The world's first brain cancer clinical trial was launched in Australia

The world's first clinical trial platform launched in Melbourne will translate research into new treatments for brain cancer and provide patients with more targeted and personalised treatment
.

The Brain-POP (Perioperative Brain Stage) clinical trial platform will allow doctors to see for the first time exactly how an innovative drug treatment works
for brain cancer patients by comparing tumor samples before and after treatment.

The new platform is led by the Brain Cancer Centre and research partners WEHI, the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne, with $16 million in funding from
the Victorian Government.

Summary:

• Brain-POP was launched in Melbourne to translate clinical research into the development of new treatments for brain cancer

• Tumor samples will be collected before and after treatment with the new therapy, a world-first approach to brain cancer clinical trials

• Led by a research partner at Melbourne's World Class Biomedical Precinct Brain Cancer Centre and supported by the Victorian Government

Survival rates for brain cancer have barely changed over 30 years, with 80% of diagnosed patients dying
within 5 years.
Every five hours, an Australian is diagnosed with brain cancer, and more
children die from brain cancer in Australia than from any other disease.


Dr.
Jim Whittle, director of the brain cancer center/WEHI laboratory and oncologist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Center and RMH, said Brain-pop will begin to address the serious problem of lack of trial options for brain cancer patients and enable findings to be quickly translated into the clinic
.


Dr Whittle said: "The lack of progress over the past 30 years has demonstrated the need to fundamentally change the way brain cancer drugs are developed and the way
clinical trials operate.
"

"The brain-pop platform provides a unique way to test whether a drug actually enters the brain and discover if it has the effect
we want.
"

"That's where we need to put our energy into the most effective and promising therapies, stopping the development of those that don't work, and leading to better outcomes
for brain cancer patients.
"
Professor Kate Drummond, Director of Neurosurgery at
Royal Melbourne Hospital, said the collaborative and integrated trial project would draw on a wide range of expertise
from researchers and clinicians in Melbourne's biomedical precinct.


Professor Drummond said: "The brain-pop unprecedented approach will put Victoria at the forefront
of brain cancer research.
"

"This new research project will be open to patients and will change the way we approach clinical research in brain cancer, providing a beacon
of hope for patients and their families across Victoria.
" "

The Victorian Government has committed $16 million to support Brain-POP
.
The clinical trial project will conduct innovative perioperative clinical trials in pediatric, adolescent and adult patients, which will help researchers create a holistic picture
of brain cancer treatments that have been missing from studies so far.


The Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and Digital Economy, MP Jaala Pulford, said the Victorian Government's investment would be used to support clinical trial platforms over the next four years and deliver a globally unique programme aimed at saving the lives
of more children, adolescents and adults with primary brain cancer and brain metastases.


"We urgently need to find more effective and curative treatments
for brain cancer.
As a global leader in cancer care and medical research, Victoria is well positioned to lead this groundbreaking work
.
"

This is an important milestone in the search for better treatments for brain cancer, and I congratulate the team for the important work
they have done so far.
" ”
 

A window of opportunity

Brain-POP is the first perioperative or "window of opportunity" clinical trial program for brain cancer, where biopsies are performed before and after treatment to provide critical information about drug activity through small, well-designed studies to guide further development
.

This approach is often used in clinical trials for other cancers, such as breast cancer, melanoma, or leukemia, but has not yet been used for brain cancer because of the delicate surgical challenges
involved.


The first clinical trial (NCT05577416) conducted through the new brain-pop platform has begun recruitment, focusing on patients with
low-grade gliomas, a slow-growing brain tumor.


Newly diagnosed patients will undergo advanced diagnostic tests and tumor samples will be taken from trial participants for testing
before and after new drug treatment.
Blood samples will also be used in trials to investigate less invasive ways to measure treatment effectiveness
.


The findings will be used to personalize treatment, allowing doctors to more targeted treatments available to brain cancer patients
.

 

Dr
Whittle said the Brain-POP project would create a new standard of care that, over time, would enable every brain cancer patient at a Victorian treatment hospital to access clinical trials
during their illness.


"We hope that by demonstrating the effectiveness of our unique trial methodology, we can roll out Brain-POP across the country so that every patient diagnosed in Australia will have access to this new standard of care
in the future," he said.


Through collaboration with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners, the Brain-POP platform will also enable patients to receive cutting-edge or advanced cancer treatments such as Gamma Knife radiosurgery, immunotherapy or targeted therapy
.


The Brain Cancer Centre was established by Carrie's Beanies Brain Cancer 4 and was established
in 2021 in partnership with WEHI with the support of the Victorian Government.


The Brain Cancer Centre's partners are: Monash University, Murdoch Children's Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Queensland, VCCC Alliance and WEHI.