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Research

Medulloblastoma is the most common childhood brain cancer. Mainstay treatments of radiation and chemotherapy have not changed in decades and new treatment approaches are crucial for the improvement of clinical outcomes. To date, immunotherapies for medulloblastoma have been unsuccessful, and studies investigating the immune microenvironment of the disease and the impact of current therapies are limited.

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Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas generally occur in young school-age children, although can occur in adolescents and young adults. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical, radiological, pathologic, and molecular characteristics in patients ≥10 years of age with DIPG enrolled in the International DIPG Registry.

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Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) remains a clinico-radiologic diagnosis without routine tissue acquisition. Reliable imaging distinction between DIPG and other pontine tumors with potentially more favorable prognoses and treatment considerations is essential.

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Central nervous system germinomas are treatment-sensitive tumors with excellent survival outcomes. Current treatment strategies combine chemotherapy with radiotherapy (RT) in order to reduce the field and dose of RT. Germinomas originating in the basal ganglia/thalamus have proven challenging to treat given their rarity and poorly defined imaging characteristics. Craniospinal, whole brain, whole ventricle, and focal RT have all been utilized; however, the best treatment strategy remains unclear.

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Led by The Kids Research Institute Australia and Aboriginal health organisations in close partnership with nine Aboriginal communities in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, the five-year SToP Trial set out to identify the best possible methods to See, Treat and Prevent painful skin sores and scabies.

Research

Cranial radiation therapy is essential in treating many pediatric cancers, especially brain tumors; however, its use comes with the risk of developing second malignancies. Cranial radiation-induced gliomas (RIGs) are aggressive high-grade tumors with a dismal prognosis, for which no standard therapy exists. A definitive molecular signature for RIGs has not yet been established. We sought to address this gap by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of the molecular features of cranial RIGs.

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Within PF-EPN-A, 1q gain is a marker of poor prognosis, however, it is unclear if within PF-EPN-A additional cytogenetic events exist which can refine risk stratification.

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Nick Gottardo MBChB FRACP PhD Head of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology and Haematology, Perth Children’s Hospital; Co-head, Brain Tumour Research

Research

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity. Existing treatment protocols are aggressive in nature resulting in significant neurological, intellectual and physical disabilities for the children undergoing treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need for improved, targeted therapies that minimize these harmful side effects.

Research

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant childhood brain tumor, and 5-year overall survival rates are as low as 40% depending on molecular subtype, with new therapies critically important. As radiotherapy and chemotherapy act through the induction of DNA damage, the sensitization of cancer cells through the inhibition of DNA damage repair pathways is a potential therapeutic strategy.

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A children’s book – written by community, for community – has been launched in Western Australia’s south-west to help children and families understand more about one of the most common inflammatory skin conditions in children. 

Research

Hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS) account for at least 10% of paediatric cancers.1 Li‐Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a dominant HCPS caused by mutations in the TP53 gene and is associated with an 80–90% lifetime risk of cancer, commencing in infancy.2 Children of affected individuals are at 50% risk of inheriting the family mutation.

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Paediatric infectious disease expert and clinician-scientist Associate Professor Asha Bowen has been named as the Emerging Leader in Science at the country’s most prestigious science awards – the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

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The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have launched the Hip Hop 2 SToP video featuring school kids participating in their SToP Trial project designed to see, treat and prevent skin infections in WA’s Kimberley region.

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The The Kids Skin Health team has a busy six weeks ahead - visiting nine communities throughout the Kimberley region of WA as part of the first school surveillance activities for the SToP Trial.

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A year after launching the first National Healthy Skin Guideline to address record rates of skin infections in Australia’s Indigenous communities, The Kids Research Institute Australia has released a new resource as part of the guideline.

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Port Hedland is hosting some of Australia’s most respected health researchers this week as they join forces with local health professionals to improve the health of people living in the tropical north of the country.

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Aboriginal community members throughout the Kimberley will take a lead role in driving healthy skin messages within their own communities thanks to a major funding boost to The Kids Research Institute Australia’s SToP Trial.

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Researchers have developed the first National Healthy Skin Guideline to address record rates of skin infections in Australia’s Indigenous communities.

News & Events

The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have confirmed that skin infections in many Aboriginal children across northern Western Australia are going unrecognised.