Pathology Service Studies & Research Findings


Pathology Service Studies & Research Findings - Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

• Diagnostic molecular test development
• Predicting response to hormonal and chemotherapy in patients with in situ and invasive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting
• Genotyping the AOCS cohort for BRCA status
• Mammographic density and breast cancer
• Familial breast cancer
• Genetic and epigenetic determinants of response to cancer therapy
• Profiling of DNA repair in cancer.
• Rapid high resolution melting assays for mutation and methylation detection
• Novel diagnostics via nanoscaled biosensors.
• Somatic DNA methylation and cancer predisposition.
• JAK 2 quantitation in myeloproliferative disorders and normal donors
• P53 mutation status in myeloma patients on new biological agents
• Coagulation assessments and biomarker development in myeloma
• Microparticle assessment as a thrombogenic marker in haematological and solid tumours
• Immunophenotyping as a response marker for MDS patients on demethylating agents
• P53 assessment in diffuse large cell lymphoma (ALLG clinical trial, substudy)
• C-Kit mutation assessment in CBF-AML (ALLG clinical trial, substudy)


Professor Stephen Fox
• Translational pathology
• Translational research in breast cancer
• Fat and Breast Cancer: Aromatase, p53 and HIF-1alpha
• Personalised breast cancer risk assessment for high risk women
• Family study of the genetic and environmental causes and outcomes of early-onset breast cancer
• Familial male breast cancer
• Biomarker Validation testing
• Ovarian cancer as related to germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

Dr David Westerman
• Assessment of thrombogenic biomarkers including microparticle assessment in myeloma patients treated with IMIDS
• Assessment of the utility of P53 mutation testing in myeloma patients treated with IMIDS
• Immunophenotyping as a diagnostic method for MDS, and its utility as a predictor of disease response to new biological agents. One of these studies is linking with an ALLG phase II MDS treatment trial
• Utility of CD200 as a differentiator in the diagnosis of NHL
• Quantitative JAK2 assessment in myelofibrosis patients undergoing allografting
• Cost of blood and platelet studies –how much does it cost a hospital holistically to transfuse these cellular products
• Teasing out biological factors of CD20 positive myeloma.
• Is CD38 a predictor for indolent mantle cell lymphoma. Biological dissection of this cohort is being undertaken.

Dr Neil Came
• Immunohistochemical study of the plasma cell and B-lymphoid compartments in all cases of Waldenström Macroglobulinemia at PMCC and RMH
• Immunohistochemical and Flow Cytometretric Evaluation of CD5-negative B-cell Lymphoma.
• Phenotypic and Molecular Characterisation of Clonogenic Multiple Myeloma Precursor Cells (collaboration with HITRL).
• Plasma cell Immunophenotyping by Flow Cytometry.
• Validation of eight colour flow cytometry in leukaemia, MDS, lymphoma and myeloma.

Dr Alex Dobrovic
• Translational and clinical research into cancers including breast, lung, colorectal and urological cancers and haematological malignancies.
• Identification of predictive markers enabling appropriate stratification of patients for individualised treatment.
• Development of clinical diagnostics.
• Adoption of novel molecular platforms and methodologies for genetic and epigenetic analysis.


Grants
Methylation changes in ductal in situ carcinomas (DCIS) of the breast
Fox, Dobrovic, Haviv, Harris, Buffa
2009 to 2011
200,000
Cancer Australia/NBCF
Seed funding for a Centre of Molecular Pathology of Cancer
Fox
2009
150,000
VCA
Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study (AOCS)
Fox, Mitchell, Webb, de Fazio, Young
2008 to 2010
200,000
Cancer Australia/NBCF
Histopathological, magnetic resonance, ultrasound mammographic density in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers
Saunders, Taylor
Role of the GATA-3 transcription factor as a tumour suppressor and potential therapeutic target in breast cancer
Visvader, Lindeman, Asselin-Labat, Chenevix-Trench, Fox
2009 to 2011
198,000
Cancer Australia/NBCF
Establishment of a breast cancer biomarker discovery and evaluation program to improve patient outcomes
Lindeman, Mann, Fox, Campbell, Findlay, Collins, Forbes
2008 to 2009
240,000
Victorian Cancer Agency – Tumour Stream Grant
Rapid determination of carrier status for breast cancer predisposition genes
Fox, Dobrovic, Mitchell
2008 to 2009
325,000
DHS
A randomised phase III study of radiation doses and fractionation schedules in non-low risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast
Chua, Fox, Delaney, McKay, Schofield, Campbell
2007 to 2011
586,150
NHMRC
454390

Molecular Pathology of Breast Cancer
Fox
2007 to 2009
175,000
VBCRC
NBCF/BreastScreen Cohort Study
I. Campbell
J. Hopper
V. Pridmore
G. Mitchell
G.M. Mann
S.B. Fox
P. French

2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

$1,000.000
$1,000.000
$1,000.000
$1,000.000
$1,000.000

National Breast Cancer Foundation