Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the June Alliance. I’m pleased to start this edition by highlighting the many achievements of our members recently.
In this week’s King’s Birthday honours, it was wonderful to see Professor David Wiesenfeld (The Royal Melbourne Hospital; Peter Mac) appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to medicine as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Prof Wiesenfeld held the position of Head and Neck Cancer Research and Education Lead at the VCCC Alliance from 2018 until 2024 and continues to play an active role in the alliance. Also recognised was Associate Professor Maria McCarthy from the Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, also appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to paediatric psycho-oncology research and education.
Notably, there were a number of consumer advocates for cancer who received recognition including Nicole Livingstone OAM, who adds an AO to her name including for her service to community health – Nicole has been an advocate in the ovarian cancer space. Among those awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) were Deborah Hutton including for her skin cancer advocacy and Gerda Evan for service to breast cancer awareness. It’s brilliant to see these and other Victorians and Australians recognised for their contributions to cancer control.
The Victorian budget 2025 was handed down on May 20 and included $8 million specifically targeted to the cancer sector and distributed between VCCC Alliance, Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Centre Consortium, Victorian Cancer Biobank Consortium and VACCHO. Of this, $1.37 million over two years was pleasingly committed to the alliance’s Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy – a collaborative research space in partnership with Peter Mac, St Vincent’s and the University of Melbourne. This funding will enable virus-driven cancer research to continue with a particular focus on liver cancer. The alliance is working with government and stakeholders to ensure ongoing support for the Data Connect program.
I was fortunate to attend the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting which was enlightening in many regards. It was very clear that China has emerged as a key player globally in cancer control following major investment by its government in cancer research. It was really wonderful to see the impact of Australian cooperative group clinical trials on global clinical practice with Peter Mac’s Danny Rischin and Sandro Porceddu presenting the C-POST study led by the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group in adjuvant therapy for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma being simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Meanwhile also in the New England Journal of Medicine, a Canadian study showing significant evidence of the effect of exercise on cancer recurrence in colon cancer was also featured. This is an exciting development and has garnered wide media coverage.
It is with great sadness that we at the alliance acknowledge the passing of consumer Les Leckie. Les was a fantastic contributor to the VCCC Alliance and the cancer sector. I recall well him interviewing me when I was first appointed as a tumour stream director for Parkville. Our Senior Manager, Consumer Involvement Dr Joanne Britto put it well this week when she described Les as the “consummate professional who always turned up well prepared. His generosity, integrity, and collaborative nature are the fabric of our Consumer Engagement Strategy”. Vale Les.
Finally, there are more accolades to applaud with two alliance members – from WEHI – elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, recognising their outstanding contributions to health and medical research: Professor Clare Scott AM, and Professor David Huang. Professor Christine Mitchell AO, Monash University was also recognised for her cancer research which includes cell signalling and breast cancer. Congratulations to all.
Until next month,
Prof Grant McArthur AO
Chief Executive Officer
