There’s a revolution going on at Kinghorn Cancer Centre which is allowing patients access to some of the most cutting edge treatments in the world.Thanks to the efforts of Professor Anthony Joshua and Dr Rasha Cosman, along with the team of nursing, administrative, regulatory and trials management colleagues, the Kinghorn Cancer Centre in Sydney now offers a suite of ‘early phase’ clinical trials.These trials mean that Kinghorn patients can be the first in the world to trial ground-breaking new treatments, often even before patients in the United States
Prof Joshua spoke to Catholic Health Australia about his work to mark World Cancer Day (Feb 4th), which aims to raise worldwide attention and inspire action for a cancer-free future.
Prof Joshua said: “Over the last five years we’ve been part of a revolution in early clinical trials in NSW. We are now one of the busiest centres in NSW for these early treatments.
“Our patients here can access major global trials which bring cutting edge treatments to Australia which is incredibly exciting for both the patients and the doctors.”
Kinghorn is part of the NSW Early Phase Trials Alliance (NECTA) which is attracting world leading trials to Sydney and rural centres across the state. All of the trials have been both ethically and scientifically assessed to ensure the welfare and safety of trial participants.
Current trials being led by Dr Joshua and his team include a new ovarian cancer treatment which is examining how to improve the effectiveness of an existing hormone treatment (tamoxifen) by combining it with an antibiotic.
Prof Joshua said: “Our initial findings lead us to believe it will be a far more effective treatment than tamoxifen as well as being non-toxic. But we now need to move these findings from the lab into a clinical trial.”
Kinghorn is also working on a number of commercial trials including cutting edge immunotherapies, new forms of chemotherapy and new ways to attack cancer cells through precision medicines by targeting their DNA.
The Kinghorn Cancer Centre is a joint facility of St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, and The Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
Professor Anthony Joshua is head of oncology at St Vincent’s.
