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Research
Grandparents’ Experiences of Childhood Cancer: A Qualitative StudyA child's cancer diagnosis has a significant impact on the lives of grandparents. Grandparents experience the stress of worrying about both their adult children and their grandchildren. Our study aimed to explore the lived experience of grandparents of children diagnosed with cancer.
Research
Lessons learnt from influenza vaccination in immunocompromised children undergoing treatment for cancerInfluenza infection contributes substantially to global morbidity and mortality, with children undergoing treatment for cancer among the most vulnerable due to immunosuppression associated with disease and treatment. However, influenza remains one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases.
Research
ErbB4 in the brain: Focus on high grade gliomaThe epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) consists of EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, and ErbB4. These receptors play key roles in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, cell migration, and in some cases, tumor promotion.
Research
Characterization of mesenchymal stem cells in pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemiaComponents of the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) have been shown to mediate the way in which leukemia develops, progresses and responds to treatment. Increasing evidence shows that leukemic cells hijack the BMM, altering its functioning and establishing leukemia-supportive interactions with stromal and immune cells.
News & Events
New childhood brain tumour drugs to be testedIt is the kids he treats in his role as a paediatric oncologist that motivate Dr Nick Gottardo in his work as a The Kids Research Institute Australia cancer researcher.
News & Events
Homeward bound: The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher taking on scientific leadership challengeThe Kids Research Institute Australia researcher, Dr Anya Jones, will join some of the world’s brightest female scientists after being selected to take part in a global project to amplify the voices of women in science leadership.
News & Events
Child health research set to benefit from national grantsResearchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded $4.6 million in national funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to help support child health research.
Research
A tipping point in cancer-immune dynamics leads to divergent immunotherapy responses and hampers biomarker discoveryPredicting treatment response or survival of cancer patients remains challenging in immuno-oncology. Efforts to overcome these challenges focus, among others, on the discovery of new biomarkers. Despite advances in cellular and molecular approaches, only a limited number of candidate biomarkers eventually enter clinical practice.
Research
Characteristics of TCR Repertoire Associated With Successful Immune Checkpoint Therapy ResponsesImmunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment. In particular, immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) leads to durable responses in some patients with some cancers. However, the majority of treated patients do not respond. Understanding immune mechanisms that underlie responsiveness to ICT will help identify predictive biomarkers of response and develop treatments to convert non-responding patients to responding ones. ICT primarily acts at the level of adaptive immunity. The specificity of adaptive immune cells, such as T and B cells, is determined by antigen-specific receptors.
Research
RUNX2 regulates leukemic cell metabolism and chemotaxis in high-risk T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemiaT cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy with inferior outcome compared with that of B cell ALL. Here, we show that Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) was upregulated in high-risk T-ALL with KMT2A rearrangements (KMT2A-R) or an immature immunophenotype. In KMT2A-R cells, we identified RUNX2 as a direct target of the KMT2A chimeras, where it reciprocally bound the KMT2A promoter, establishing a regulatory feed-forward mechanism.