2018
Published on the 31 December 2018
3rd December: Patients and community favour personalised mouse avatars to pre-test cancer treatment
Mouse avatars – a method to pre-test cancer treatments in mice and personalise treatment approaches – are overwhelmingly supported by both cancer survivors and the wider community, a world-first study led by Prof Claire Wakefield has found.
The study surveyed and analysed the views of more than 1500 people, including cancer survivors, parents and the community, and was recently published in Lancet journal EBioMedicine.
The results will inform the successful implementation of models like these, and guide the future of patient involvement in cancer treatment decision-making.
“Mouse avatars are likely to play a key role in translational cancer care of the future,” Prof Wakefield says.
“This is the first study in the world to ask the community about their views on using mouse avatars to pre-test cancer treatments.”
The Avatar Acceptability Study: Survivor, Parent and Community Willingness to Use Patient-Derived Xenografts to Personalize Cancer Care
16 October: Renewed focus on GP involvement with childhood cancers
General Practitioners are willing, but need greater support, to provide follow-up care to survivors of childhood cancer.
Dr Christina Signorelli and our Health Behaviours team interviewed 120 adult survivors of childhood cancer and parents of young survivors under 16, as well as 51 General Practitioners (GPs) to assess attitudes towards ongoing health care following recovery from the initial illness.
They found that while two-thirds of survivors had visited their GP for cancer-related care since finishing treatment, only just over half of the patients had high confidence in their family doctor’s ability to deliver their survivorship care. Those with low confidence felt that GPs were less connected to their cancer experience.
And while all GPs reported being comfortable caring for survivors of adult cancers, they indicated feeling less comfortable caring for childhood survivors.
The Role Of Primary Care Physicians in Childhood Cancer Survivorship Care: Multiperspective Interviews
5th October: Delta animation launch
The BSU proudly announces the official launch of the Delta animation, a resource that supports both parents and young people who are deciding whether to enrol in a childhood cancer clinical trial. UNSW and BSU PhD candidate Eden Robertson has led the development of this world-first resource.
“Deciding whether or not to participate in a clinical trial is a decision that many families going through their child’s cancer journey will be confronted with,” PhD candidate Eden Robertson from UNSW Medicine’s Behavioural Sciences Unit, who developed the resource, says.
“Clinical trials are fundamental to improving outcomes for children with cancer. However, families can experience high distress and uncertainty when making the decision whether to enrol. Families are also bombarded with large amounts of information. They often lack understanding about the key concepts that underpin the trial, limiting their ability to provide fully informed consent.”
The animation was developed in collaboration with experts in the field, including Professor Tracey O’Brien (Director of the Kids Cancer Centre), and A/Prof David Ziegler (Head of the Clinical Trials Program, Kids Cancer Centre). It was produced by creative agency MediaOne, who have previously won awards for their medical videos.
The animation will be a part of a larger suite of resources – called Delta – that the project's team are developing. For more information please visit the Delta webpage or UNSW
26th July: Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly has received a $60,000 grant from the AYA Cancer Global Accord - a partnership between CanTeen Australia, Teen Cancer America and the UK’s Teenage Cancer Trust - to create training materials to educate healthcare professionals on how to initiate and navigate end-of-life conversations with adolescent and young adult cancer patients.
Study update: Re-engage
“The Re-engage project was set up in 2015 with the aim to make sure survivors receive the best possible care after cancer, by improving their knowledge about late effects and engagement with recommended medical follow-up,” said Professor Wakefield.
“Risk-based care of young survivors is important, as many late effects of childhood cancer treatment are modifiable through prevention or early detection and intervention. However, providing comprehensive long-term follow-up care to survivors is difficult as their need for specialised care spans decades and life stages,” she said.
The team, who work out of the School of Women’s and Children’s Health, Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, set out to develop Re-engage as a novel and low-burden offer to young childhood cancer survivors, enabling them the opportunity to identify their personal risk factors and improve their physical and emotional health.
16th-19th June: Ms Brittany McGill and Dr Janine Vetsch presented at the European Meeting on the Psychosocial Aspects of Genetics (EMPAG) at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) conference in Milan.
Ms Brittany McGill presented 'I remember the feeling, not the gene: Families' experiences of and attitudes towards genetic testing in childhood cancer'.
Dr Janine Vetsch presented 'The PRISM-IMPACT study: What are the hopes and expectations of families and health care professionals enrolling in a personalised medicine trial for high risk childhood cancers?'.
14th-16th June: Several members of the BSU team attended the Australian and New Zealand Children's Haematology/Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) Annual Scientific Meeting in Sydney.
Prof Claire Wakefield presented: 'The PRISM-IMPACT study: What are the hopes and expectations of families and healthcare professionals enrolling in a personalised medicine trial for high risk childhood cancers?'
Ms Eden Robertson presented two studies from her PhD project. Ms Robertson’s oral presentation focused on the development of her online decision aid, ‘Delta’, which aims to support families deciding whether to enrol their child with cancer in a clinical trial (slides available upon request). Her presentation included the results from her eye-tracking study and early pilot results. Ms Robertson also presented a poster about healthcare professionals perspectives of enrolling children with cancer in to an early phase clinical trial.
Ms Christina Signorelli presented two posters on overcoming barriers to accessing childhood cancer survivorship care and the lasting impact of surgery for childhood cancer.
Mr David Mizrahi presented: 'Can technology be used to increase physical activity levels and improve physical and psychological health in survivors of childhood cancer?'.
Dr Joanna Fardell presented: 'The development of an online school re-entry website for children and adolescents with cancer'.
Ms Sarah Ellis presented: 'Improving caregiver sleep and self-care on the paediatric oncology ward'.
Dr Lauren Kelada presented: 'Grandparents of children with cancer: A controlled comparison of perceived family functioning'.
6th March: Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly was invited to participate in an International Women's Day panel hosted by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales. The panel was led by Dr Veronica McCabe, the Director of Strategic Research Investment at Cancer Institute NSW. Dr Sansom-Daly was joined by co-panellists Dr Natalie Taylor and Dr Emily Colvin. As women working in cancer research, they spoke about what it is like for women in the cancer research field, including challenges that still exist and where they would like to see things go 10 years from now and beyond.
16th February: Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly was interviewed by SBS's 'Insight' for their article 'What to say to a young person with cancer'. Dr Sansom-Daly shared her professional perspective as a clinical psychologist working with the Sydney Youth Cancer Service. She provided advice for friends and parents of young people with cancer about how to best support and communicate with a young person after they are diagnosed with cancer.