We’re building what researchers need to make more brain cancer breakthroughs – and get the benefits to patients faster.
For too long, brain cancer researchers in Australia have lacked access to a critical mass of data, tissue samples, and participants for clinical trials. Brain Cancer Australia is building three connected infrastructure ‘pillars’ that will fill the gaps and dramatically increase brain cancer research capability in Australia.
These cutting-edge resources will be available to the entire brain cancer research and healthcare community. They will support collaboration between researchers, doctors, hospitals and patients.
Work has already begun on these infrastructure pillars, and Brain Cancer Australia is seeking the support of the community to complete them.
The impact will be more life-saving treatments and best-practice care for people who have brain cancer.
Three vital infrastructure ‘pillars’ will transform brain cancer research and patient lives.
Australian Brain Cancer Registry (ABCR)
The Registry will hold clinical quality data on treatment and outcomes across the entire brain cancer journey from diagnosis to end of life.
The collection will be available to hospitals, clinicians and researchers. It is intended to collect data from 90% of brain cancer patients, creating the largest and most comprehensive dataset in the history of brain cancer research in Australia.
The Registry will help identify and reduce variations in patient care and treatment – and help make sure that patients receive best practice care, regardless of their location or socio-economic status.
The ABCR will:
- Systematically collect treatment and outcome data using standardised health definitions
- Measure adherence to clinical care standards, including a ‘feedback loop’ to enable continuous improvement
- Perform appropriate public reporting, and national and international benchmarking
- Future proof data collection via automated data extraction, analysis and reporting.
Opt Me In (OMI) Platform
The Platform will make it easier for patients with brain cancer to register their availability to participate in clinical trials and other research.
The Platform will also support cost-effective, data-driven clinical trials.
This novel collaboration between patients and researchers will speed up the translation of research findings into clinical practice, helping Australians who have brain cancer - and not enough time to wait.
The infrastructure will focus on trials addressing key questions for all brain cancer patients: treatment scheduling, drug repurposing and patient experience/quality of life.
Biobanking and Organoid Platform
The Platform will establish the national standards to harmonise brain cancer biobanking and the development of cutting-edge brain tumour models or organoids in labs across Australia.
It will also link data from the Australian Brain Cancer Registry to collected tissue samples to drive research.
These resources will enable in-depth research on the specific genetic makeup of individual brain tumours and allow researchers to draw more accurate conclusions about the effectiveness of new therapies.
These pillars are the foundational resources that brain cancer researchers need to generate continuous discoveries and improvements in clinical care.
They will help attract brilliant brain cancer researchers, and make Australia more attractive to global brain cancer research organisations looking for partnerships and collaborations.
By supporting this research infrastructure, you can help speed up the delivery of more life-saving treatments and care to Australians who need them.
