Supporting Victoria’s early career cancer researchers in their pursuit to find tomorrow’s lifesaving treatments
Melbourne researchers are, for the first time, aiming to transform how liver cancer is treated by improving our understanding of how liver tumours are formed.
The type of cell from which a tumour begins and grows, known as the cell of origin, often contributes to the final characteristics of cancer and can inform new treatment options.
However, the cellular origin of different types of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, has not yet been discovered.
New data from the Victorian Cancer Registry can reveal that over the past four decades liver cancer mortality rates have increased by 191 per cent, making it among the most rapidly increasing cancer mortality rates in Victoria.
Last year, 450 Victorians died from liver cancer, representing a 4.9 per cent increase from 2021 when 429 Victorians died.
This research is one of four projects funded by Cancer Council Victoria’s $1.8 million Postdoctoral Research Fellowships that supports early career cancer researchers in Victoria.
Cancer Council Victoria’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowships support early career researchers who have not received significant research funding to undertake research into the causes, prevention, detection, and supportive care or treatment of cancer.
The other early career projects awarded by Cancer Council Victoria include:
- Locating the cellular source of a major subset of liver cancer, Dr Philip Arandjelovic
- Promoting cell growth to prevent the spread of head and neck cancer, Dr Yuchen Bai, University of Melbourne
- Novel combination treatment strategy to fight malignant pleural mesothelioma, Dr Milad Ghomlaghi, Monash University
- Unlocking the potential of CAR T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer, Dr Laura Porter, Monash University
WEHI researcher Dr Philip Arandjelovic said that for all cancers, it’s important to know which specific cell, after acquiring genetic mutations, can go on to cause a tumour.
“For one of the most common variants of hepatocellular carcinoma, we don’t really know the answer to that question. We want to understand which specific group of hepatocytes, which are the main cells that make up the liver, is most likely to cause HCC tumours and why.
“This research aims to identify, for the first time, the cells of origin and biological changes that drive one of the most common mutant subtypes of HCC, which represents around 30-50 per cent of cases,” Dr Arandjelovic said.
Dr Philip Arandjelovic
“This knowledge could transform how liver cancer is treated and could pave the way for new personalised medicines,” Dr Arandjelovic added.
Dr Arandjelovic and team are using cutting-edge mouse models where they can directly mutate a protein that is responsible for nearly half of HCC cases.
“We can mutate different groups of cells in the liver and then wait to see whether it’s cell group A or cell group B that generates a tumour, and so by using this technique we hope it will give us a pre-clinical answer to this very important question,” Dr Arandjelovic added.
Dr Arandjelovic said that they already have some interesting preliminary findings that are pointing them to potential answers.
“You can’t rush biology, but we hope that within a few years we should have a much better understanding of what’s really driving this common form of liver cancer,” he said.
Dr Arandjelovic said funding from Cancer Council Victoria has been the lifeblood for this project.
“Funding is what keeps the research engine running. The awarding of this Fellowship represents a turning point in my career trajectory towards becoming an independent researcher in the liver cancer field.
“It also provides a launching pad for future successful grant applications that are vital to career growth and that will help us address future scientific problems,” Dr Arandjelovic added.
Cancer Council Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Todd Harper AM, said that Cancer Council Victoria had funded some of the state’s best early career cancer researchers.
“For decades, we have been supporting Victoria’s early career cancer researchers in their pursuit to find tomorrow’s lifesaving treatments,” Mr Harper said.
“In 2022, Cancer Council Victoria spent over $30 million in cancer research. Cancer research has improved cancer survival rates for more common cancers by 30% over the past three decades.
“We hope these budding researchers, now funded thanks to the generosity of Victorians, will play pivotal roles in the next ground-breaking cancer breakthrough.”
