Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in Western societies, with a five year survival rate of less than 10%. The treatment and survival of patients with pancreatic cancer has not changed for over thirty years because there has been little research into the molecular and cell biology associated with it. Our projects focus on translating basic scientific discoveries into the clinic. These include:
- Defining clinically and biologically relevant phenotypes of Pancreatic Cancer, primarily through our integral role in the Australian Pancreatic Cancer Genome Initiative which is part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (see http://www.pancreaticcancer.net.au)
- Developing biomarkers of prognosis and therapeutic responsiveness with clinical utility
- Understanding molecular mechanisms of resistance to develop novel therapeutic strategies.
Staff
 Clinical Research OfficerDr David Chang |
 Senior Research OfficerDr Marina Pajic |
 Senior Research OfficerDr Scott Mead |
 Senior Research OfficerDr Jiang Tao |
 Research AssistantAmanda Mawson |
 Research AssistantMarc Jones |
 Research AssistantElke Vermeulen |
 Research AssistantJessica Pettitt |
 Research AssistantClare Watson |
 Research AssistantAngela Steinmann |
 Research AssistantCalan Spielman |
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 PhD StudentVenessa Chin |
 PhD StudentDr Jeremy Humphris |
 PhD StudentDr Lorraine Chantrill |
 PhD StudentAdnan Nagrial |
 PhD StudentMark Pinese |
 PhD StudentDr Angela Chou |
 Tumour Bank CoordinatorMona Martyn-Smith |
 Project ManagerAmber Johns |
 Clinical Research CoordinatorSkye Simpson |
 Scientific Officer
Mary-Anne Bracato |
 Administration AssistantCathy Axford |
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| Visiting Scientist Dr Alina Stoita |
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| Honorary Researchers A/Prof Neil Merrett Dr Anthony Gill Dr Chris Scarlett |
Data Clerks Tehara Wickremeratne Timothy Eviston Melanie Fentoullis |
News
Unmasking the deadly secrets of pancreatic cancer
MEDIA RELEASE:
25 Oct 2012
A large-scale study that defines the complexity of underlying mutations responsible for pancreatic cancers in more than 100 patients was published in Nature today. Garvan's Professor Andrew Biankin and Professor Sean Grimmond, from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of Queensland, co-led an international team that sequenced the genomes of 100 pancreatic tumours and compared them to normal tissue.
Pancreatic Cancer Research Group wins Cancer Institute NSW award
30 Jul 2012
Garvan’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Group, led by Professor Andrew Biankin, recently won the inaugural Cancer Institute NSW ‘Wildfire award’ at CINSW’s annual cancer awards night, held to honour the work of the State's most innovative and dynamic cancer researchers.The Wildfire award recognises a highly-cited publication where the research results have significantly influenced how cancer is treated.
Helping pancreatic cancer surgeons make tiebreaker decisions
MEDIA RELEASE:
15 Apr 2011
Garvan researchers have identified two ‘biomarkers’ that appear to have the ability to predict patient survival after surgery for pancreatic cancer before the operation takes place. It is the first predictive tool of its kind for this most deadly of cancers. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) highlights the finding in its current newsletter (ASCO Post) – distributed globally to a broad audience of cancer professionals.
