Collaborative, cross-institute research into virus-driven cancers will be expanded over the next two years in a dedicated laboratory space at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre following funding announced in the 2025 Victorian state budget.
The Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy (CCI) received $1.37 million over two years. The CCI, which opened in 2018, is a collaboration between the VCCC Alliance, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and the University of Melbourne and hosts collaborative cancer research initiatives that encompass many of the VCCC Alliance members.
The funding will enable the expansion of two ground-breaking approaches to treating chronic Hepatitis B infection and liver cancer. The first will utilise cutting-edge mRNA technology (CRISPR-Cas 13) to destroy hepatitis B virus DNA present in the liver cells of chronic carriers of the virus, to reduce the risk of cancer developing. In the second initiative, a therapeutic vaccine will be developed to immunise patients who have already developed primary liver cancer. The aim is to activate a patient’s immune system to reject both the virus and the cancer.
“Viruses are the direct cause of about 25 per cent of all human cancers. Our virus-driven cancer research program will give us the opportunity to lead the world in groundbreaking liver cancer treatment and prevention,” Professor Grant McArthur AO, VCCC Alliance chief executive officer said.
“We’re grateful to the Victorian Government for supporting the VCCC Alliance; it has enabled us to make significant and impactful inroads into cancer research, treatment and patient care.”
The CCI is now home to about 40 researchers and clinicians from six Victorian institutions across multiple disciplines. In addition to the founding partners, other major collaborators now involved in the hepatitis B/liver cancer initiative include St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Alfred, and Austin Health.
The Centre’s scientists and clinicians have already contributed to research advances in acute myeloid leukemia, melanoma, prostate cancer and refractory children’s cancers such as sarcoma and neuroblastoma.
Primary liver cancer, or HCC (Hepatocellular Carcinoma) is cancer that starts in the liver; it is almost always preceded by long-term liver inflammation due to chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection. Alcohol, obesity and type 2 diabetes, and Hepatitis C are other leading causes of primary liver cancer. In Australia, HBV is the cause of about 25 per cent of all liver cancers, but in other countries in our region, HBV is even more common.
“Unfortunately, only about one in four patients diagnosed with primary liver cancer survive long-term and treatment options are limited if the cancer cannot be removed surgically. In 2023 there were more that 3000 new liver cancer diagnoses, and more than 2,500 people died from the disease,” said Professor Joe Trapani AO, Director, Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy. “We are testing two RNA-based technologies – one that destroys the hepatitis B virus’s ability to spread to uninfected liver cells, so that liver cancer is less likely. The second approach is to develop a mRNA-encoded vaccine to offer an additional immune-based therapy to people with advanced disease”.
Liver cancer disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. If successfully translated to clinical studies, the new approach could appreciably help to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian’s cancer outcomes and would in time benefit other Indigenous populations worldwide who struggle with similar challenges.
“Once we can demonstrate this approach works successfully in the lab, we hope to move the approach rapidly into clinical trials. Our goal is to have this treatment available to patients within a few years,” Professor Trapani said.
Two major programs of work underway at the Centre are exploring new therapies with potential to change outcomes for people with liver cancer:
