VCCC Annual Report 2018-19
This year's triumph has been bringing to life the innovative, game-changing programs that make up the VCCC Strategic Research Plan 2017-20.
The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is a powerful alliance of 10 leading research, academic and clinical institutions working together to accelerate and amplify leading-edge cancer research, knowledge and expertise to benefit the Victorian community.
VCCC programs support and enable the alliance members to work strategically and collaboratively together, integrating cancer research, clinical trials and education, to enable and accelerate the translation of scientific evidence into patient and community benefit.
With the support of the Victorian Government, the VCCC seeks to reinforce Victoria’s position at the forefront of research-led, consumer-informed, cancer prevention, detection, treatment and patient care.
Peter Mac is Australia’s only integrated cancer research, treatment and education centre, with multidisciplinary teams that provide care informed by precision in fundamental, translational and clinical research.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Health) provides high-quality cancer treatment programs, translational research, and surgical and medical expertise, as well as other key support services such as clinical care and emergency medicine.
Australia’s first ranked research university and medical school, the university provides academic and research expertise to the alliance.
The Women’s provides specialist cancer services for women with breast and gynecological cancer and conducts research into the treatment and care of women with cancer, as well as the specific impacts of gender on cancer.
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is one of Australia’s leading biomedical research organisations, with a strong national and international reputation for performing highly influential basic and translational research.
The Children’s Cancer Centre is the only provider of complex children’s cancer care and stem cell transplantation in Victoria and is a leader in the research and treatment of childhood cancer.
Western Health is the largest provider of treatment for colorectal cancer and a leader in the treatment of upper gastro-intestinal cancers with programs in breast, lung, genitourinary, gynaecology and haematological cancer.
Western Health has on-site radiation therapy and chemotherapy facilities and has a strong palliative care service.
A leader in palliative care practice and complex cancer surgery, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne also provides oncology and haematology services, on-site radiation therapy and chemotherapy facilities, in addition the hospital houses the Victorian-wide psycho-oncology service.
The hospital shares its campus with St Vincent's Institute, which has fundamental and clinical researchers working on mechanisms of cancer and diseases of cancer survivorship.
The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre at Austin Health provides world-leading specialist treatment and holistic care including clinical trials both independently and in partnership with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) – a leader in the development of experimental and breakthrough cancer treatments only metres from where patients are cared for.
The MCRI is a leader in understanding the underlying mechanisms and treatment of paediatric cancer and is home to the Children’s Cancer Tissue bank; a world class resource for researchers studying rare solid tumours and leukemia.
Peter Mac is Australia’s only integrated cancer research, treatment and education centre, with multidisciplinary teams that provide care informed by precision in fundamental, translational and clinical research.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Health) provides high-quality cancer treatment programs, translational research, and surgical and medical expertise, as well as other key support services such as clinical care and emergency medicine.
Australia’s first ranked research university and medical school, the university provides academic and research expertise to the alliance.
The Women’s provides specialist cancer services for women with breast and gynecological cancer and conducts research into the treatment and care of women with cancer, as well as the specific impacts of gender on cancer.
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is one of Australia’s leading biomedical research organisations, with a strong national and international reputation for performing highly influential basic and translational research.
The Children’s Cancer Centre is the only provider of complex children’s cancer care and stem cell transplantation in Victoria and is a leader in the research and treatment of childhood cancer.
Western Health is the largest provider of treatment for colorectal cancer and a leader in the treatment of upper gastro-intestinal cancers with programs in breast, lung, genitourinary, gynaecology and haematological cancer.
Western Health has on-site radiation therapy and chemotherapy facilities and has a strong palliative care service.
A leader in palliative care practice and complex cancer surgery, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne also provides oncology and haematology services, on-site radiation therapy and chemotherapy facilities, in addition the hospital houses the Victorian-wide psycho-oncology service.
The hospital shares its campus with St Vincent's Institute, which has fundamental and clinical researchers working on mechanisms of cancer and diseases of cancer survivorship.
The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre at Austin Health provides world-leading specialist treatment and holistic care including clinical trials both independently and in partnership with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) – a leader in the development of experimental and breakthrough cancer treatments only metres from where patients are cared for.
The MCRI is a leader in understanding the underlying mechanisms and treatment of paediatric cancer and is home to the Children’s Cancer Tissue bank; a world class resource for researchers studying rare solid tumours and leukemia.
It is heartening to see momentum around childhood cancers with the Australian Government confirming a dedicated day annually to raise awareness of the impact of childhood brain cancer.
The inaugural Childhood Brain Cancer Awareness Day on 26 September highlighted the challenges of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) which is one of the most aggressive cancers to affect children, with no known curative therapies.
Amid the wit (and occasional slander!) of the debate, the arguments presented revealed the complexity of the topic – this was further demonstrated by the difficulty both teams had staying on their side of the debate!
Learn moreWorking with Cancer Trials Australia (CTA), the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) has appointed two dedicated project officers to implement SiteDocs, an electronic document management platform, as well as facilitate training and support.
Sixteen clinical trial sites in Melbourne and regional Victoria are involved in the implementation which will enable our collective impact and produce greater efficiencies.
At the recent VCCC 5th Psycho-oncology Conference, Professor Foster spoke on advancing comprehensive cancer care and what we have learnt from patients so far. Here she provides her thoughts and ideas of improving practices to better involve patients in research.
Learn moreOn 4 December, the VCCC will host its first Consumer Engagement Forum to share experiences and introduce a range of resources to help implement meaningful engagement.
Learn moreIn this new collaborative initiative, nurses who applied for VCCC support had to involve at least two alliance clinical partner organisations whilst focusing on improving the quality and safety of care for people affected by cancer.
Learn moreHosted at the VCCC, this workshop will describe the most useful strategies that thousands of researchers have found helpful in balancing the many demands on their time.
An educational forum designed for healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with brain tumours.
Build it together or fail alone
Best practice consumer engagement is an important area of focus for the VCCC.
At this special consumer-focused Monday Lunch Live, you will hear from a team member of the University of Melbourne collaborative research project representing the Fontan Patient community, Jonathan Mackley who will be joined by Dr Joanne Britto VCCC consumer engagement manager.
Jonathan will provide an overview of the Fontan Video Stories Project, a series of stories of hope created by patients living with congenital heart disease - and representative of good consumer engagement.
The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) alliance is committed to developing a highly skilled, clinical trial workforce, with the aim of expanding clinical trial activity and patient participation in Victorian cancer clinical trials.
We are offering multiple, paid internship opportunities in Victorian cancer clinical trial units, via the SKILLED program. These opportunities are available to Victorian-based scientific BSc (Hons) or higher.
The flexible program is designed to be of interest to PhD students with either a scientific or clinical background, including medical graduates, nursing and allied health specialists.