This Daffodil Day, you're giving to research into treatments for childhood brain cancers.
Childhood cancer remains one of the greatest medical challenges, and despite advances, aggressive brain tumours like Medulloblastoma (MB) and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) still have limited treatment options and poor survival rates. The five-year survival rate for DIPG is less than 2%.
One thing that makes these brain cancers especially hard to treat is that they have very high levels of certain cancer-promoting proteins, called c-Myc and MYCN, which act like fuel for cancer, helping it grow and spread more aggressively.
But, knowing what’s fuelling the growth of these highly aggressive cancers, means our best cancer researchers can now find a way to stop
Associate Professor Bellamy Cheung and her team are testing a group of promising new drugs that can work together with an existing type of cancer treatment—called HDAC inhibitors—to reduce the levels of these harmful proteins. By cutting off the cancer’s fuel supply, these treatments could help slow or even stop tumour growth.
“This research is focused on making treatments safer and more effective for children by targeting the cancer’s specific weaknesses,” said A/Prof Cheung.
“Ultimately, we aim to change the future of childhood brain cancer treatment, giving children better survival chances and a higher quality of life now and for generations to come.”
A promising drug has shown strong potential in slowing tumour growth, works well with an existing treatment, and most importantly, can cross the blood-brain barrier to access the hard-to-reach tumour.
While cancer research has advanced so much that the survival rate for many cancers has reached an all-time high, there remain untreatable cancers in desperate need of answers. This discovery is a critically important development that renews hope for Australian families impacted by a devastating brain cancer diagnosis.
With your help, Cancer Council can fund such ground-breaking work from the lab bench to the bedside and help change the future for children with brain cancer.
“Because of you, kids with cancer have a fighting chance. Your support isn’t just funding research; it’s giving families hope, better treatment, and more precious moments together. Thank you for being part of this journey with us,”
said A/Prof Cheung.
For all that cancer takes, please give to lifesaving cancer research this Daffodil Day.
