“Less than a decade ago, advanced melanoma was almost always a death sentence – much like brain cancer is today. It changed because we built the right infrastructure.”
Professor Richard Scolyer AO
What worked for melanoma can work for brain cancer — if we build the right infrastructure.
Brain Cancer Australia is building the research infrastructure that will drive breakthroughs in brain cancer. We know this approach works because it has already transformed outcomes in other cancers.
Professor Richard Scolyer AO, former Australian of the Year and former Co-Medical Director of Melanoma Institute Australia, has seen this firsthand.
In his words:
“Less than a decade ago, advanced melanoma was almost always a death sentence – much like brain cancer is today.
The 5-year overall survival rate for advanced melanoma has now increased from less than 10% to over 50%.
It changed because we built the right infrastructure – systems for patients to enrol in clinical trials, specimen collections for research, and comprehensive data that informed both research and clinical care – and we had the philanthropic support to make progress possible.”
Professor Scolyer’s leadership is an inspiration to us and we’re grateful for his generosity in continuing to advocate for change, even as he faces the grim reality of brain cancer himself.
At Brain Cancer Australia, we’re building three national infrastructure platforms designed to deliver that same kind of progress that’s been seen in melanoma:
– A platform enabling registry-based trials and faster patient enrolment
– A national biobanking and organoid initiative to accelerate next-generation research
Professor Michael Besser AM, Chair of Brain Cancer Australia and a colleague of Prof Scolyer, knows just how much brain cancer demands a different approach. In his many years as a neurosurgeon, it’s the one disease that has haunted him. But now, he believes we’re on the cusp of a revolution.
“Ten years from now, I believe we’ll be sharing a similar message of improved survival rates in brain cancer,” says Prof Besser. “The national infrastructure we’re building is laying the groundwork now – giving researchers and clinicians the resources they need to transform outcomes for patients.”
