One step closer to curing children’s brain cancer

A clinician/scientist who works jointly at Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA) and Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick has identified a gene known as NOL-3, which could unravel the mystery behind devastating childhood brain cancers.

Dr Ziegler has been awarded the 2010 Balnaves Foundation grant through the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA) to further develop new treatments for childhood brain cancer which is the most aggressive of all children’s cancer with the lowest survival rate.

"We desperately need to develop new drugs for treatment of childhood cancer in Australia because the benefits of conventional therapies have plateaued," says Dr Ziegler the winner of the Balnaves Foundation Young Researcher’s Fund Award 2010 which will boost his research by AU$50,000 a year for two years.

Dr Ziegler is committed to doing world-class research. At CCIA he is finding new treatments for children’s brain tumours then translating promising laboratory findings into clinical trials in the cancer clinic at Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick. Dr Ziegler is focussing on two of the most devastating childhood brain cancers; malignant gliomas and medulloblastomas.

While at Harvard Medical School, Dr Ziegler and his team found that NOL-3 may play a critical role in malignant gliomas.  By studying the cancer tissues removed from a small number of patients with brain cancer, in the laboratory at CCIA, he discovered that NOL-3 is found in the most aggressive cancers that do not respond well to current therapies.  His next step is to confirm these findings in a larger group of patients and use this gene to develop novel brain cancer drugs, replacing current therapies that often have long term negative side effects.

"For children with brain tumours, the effects of current treatment are often devastating.  Very young children treated with radiotherapy to the brain have a high risk of learning problems, hearing impairment and it may even lead to the development of another cancer years later."

The family of Amy Poynting know all too well the devastating effects of cancer, with Amy diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer at just four years of age.

"When we found Amy had brain cancer, it felt like time stood still – our world had come to an end," says Andrew Poynting, Amy’s father.

"After more than two years of treatment and fighting the disease, she’s thankfully in remission, but the long term effects of her treatment have dramatically affected her quality of life –  she needs extra help at pre-school and her hearing and vision is not nearly as good. 

Neil Balnaves, founder of The Balnaves Foundation has awarded the grant through the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA), says the medical advances that got us this far didn’t come easily and the task is far from over. "The current position has been achieved by persistent improvements in care, attention to detail and research."

"As a clinician and scientist, David’s dedication to innovative treatments is leading the way for translational medicine; the key in finding a more effective cure for these tumours."
"CCIA has a unique partnership with Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick, that is critical in effectively translating research discoveries at the ‘bench’ into real outcomes for children at the ‘bedside’, improving quality of care and access to new technology," says CCIA’s Executive Director, Professor Michelle Haber AM. "We are known worldwide for our translational research. It’s a powerful process that allows CCIA to be at the forefront of childhood cancer research."

On his inspiration for the grant, Mr Balnaves says it’s a necessity. "Attracting clinicians to do research in Australia is a challenge due to lack of available funding," he says. "The Health Reform process has a strong focus on translating research outcomes into practice but so far hasn’t really put its money on the table.

"The Randwick campus encompassing Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA), Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and the Lowy Cancer Resesarch Centre is at the forefront of this new direction and is driving the future of research in this country, and therefore needs to be supported accordingly."

"As a young father, I can only imagine seeing your child go through something as devastating as cancer," says Dr Ziegler. "With this support I can now take the next step in turning the work we do in the lab into better outcomes for children with cancer."

"No parent should have to watch their child battle cancer, and no child should have to continue to suffer the consequences in their adult life. There must be effective treatments that allow the kid to go on and live a normal life afterwards," Andrew Poynting says.

(Source: Children’s Cancer Institute Australia)