Improving outcomes for patients with blood disorders

Fight Cancer Foundation is proud of our longstanding partnership with Melbourne Health and The Royal Melbourne Hospital to fund translational research into blood disorders. Cancers of the blood – leukaemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma – affect people of all ages and are one of the largest causes of cancer death in Australia.

The ongoing translation of laboratory and clinical research to clinical practice and policy creates better patient outcomes.
Researchers working at The Royal Melbourne Hospital are dedicated to finding the answers to the infinite questions raised by cancer. Their work at the ACRF Translational Haematology Laboratory paves the way by applying basic science knowledge to samples of patients to create new treatment pathways.

One such project is the collection and storage of samples from patients undergoing a transplant and their donors. These samples are now being used to identify the markers that activate or suppress the immune system’s response, helping determine what can protect cancer patients against relapse following a stem cell transplant.

The project has also analysed T cell growth after transplant, enabling a collaboration with the Allogeneic Transplant Centre in the UK to establish an important baseline against which new treatments to enhance cancer-fighting immunity can be compared.

We look forward to continuing to support investigations into this important area of research to improve the outcomes for patients with blood disorders.