Leadership and Collaboration LUNG CANCER Registries, Data Linkage and Biobanking Research & Education Lead: Associate Professor A coordinated approach to collecting tumour material Gavin Wright, St Vincent’s Hospital and data across organisations has been identified as a high priority. Steps towards this are being explored in a collaborative trial of a method for detecting circulating tumour DNA in lung cancer. Involvement is being sought from all VCCC alliance partners. Targeted Therapies With a range of targeted therapies now added to treatment algorithms for lung cancer as well as new immune therapies and various combined therapies, the therapeutic landscape has become increasingly Phase I Priorities 2017–18 complex. Going forward a focus will be on working with various clinical trial groups to gain agreement on Broad consultation to consider the wide diversity of priorities, as well as clinical education to appropriately • implement new therapies. issues across the various disciplines involved in lung cancer diagnosis and care Lung Cancer Cell Biology •Examine opportunities for collaboration and collective effort to help overcome the research Collaboration with Dr Kate Sutherland and challenges presented by late diagnosis, rapid rate of colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute decline from diagnosis to death and poor survival opened up a new avenue for preclinical translational rates across all lung cancers research in mouse models of lung cancer involving Explore clinical trials opportunities across the hospital anatomical and molecular pathology, as well • as imaging. Early results have formed the basis of a alliance partners funding submission to National Health and Medical KEY ACTIVITIES Research Council (NHMRC). Clinical Trials Coordinated collaboration has supported Promoted involvement of all adult hospitals in the accelerated progress in new clinical VCCC in two pragmatic trials that have the potential trials, data sharing and understanding of to alter clinical practice: rapidly-changing therapeutic approaches Radiation therapy vs surgical intervention in for lung cancer. • newly diagnosed patients — currently open at St Vincent’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Melbourne Hospital with view to inclusion of Austin and Western Health hospitals • Assessment of two alternative anaesthetics during surgery for lung and colorectal cancer to test for a link to cancer recurrence — open at St Vincent’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. 21