Australia’s first integrated network of brain cancer research platforms
Since its establishment in 2015, Brain Cancer Australia (BCA) has led the charge as Australia’s first national consortium dedicated to building the research infrastructure needed to deliver equitable care and next-generation research – and substantially improve outcomes for people with brain cancer.
This nearly decade-long journey has enabled us to develop an unparalleled understanding of the gaps in national research infrastructure that have hampered consistent, high-quality care and collaborative research in brain cancer. Our pioneering biobanking network has been instrumental in providing access to the critical mass of tissue samples needed to accelerate discoveries.
Building on this foundation, we are now driving forward three interconnected infrastructure platforms that will enable access to the data needed for best practice patient care, cost effective clinical trials, and data-linkage to tissue samples for breakthrough research.
In addition, we are developing national standards to harmonise brain cancer biobanking operations and the development of brain cancer organoids across Australia.
If you are a researcher or clinician, you can:
View
the Australian Brain Cancer Registry Clinical Quality Indicators and Statistical Report 2014-2023.
Join
the Brain Cancer Australia consortium
Read reports and publications
related to the Australian Brain Cancer Registry and the Biobanking and Organoid Platform
Access
the National Brain Cancer Biospecimen Register to search for biospecimens and submit an Expression of Interest
If you or a family member is being treated for brain cancer you can:
Donate tumour tissue
to the Biobank and Organoid Platform
Learn
about the Opt Me In Platform which is being developed to increase patient involvement in access to clinical trials and other research.
Australian Brain Cancer Registry
The Australian Brain Cancer Registry (ABCR) is the first national clinical quality registry for brain cancer in Australia – and the first in the world to bring together population-wide diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes data for this disease.
The ABCR regularly reports on treatment quality and variation in practice and outcomes across Australia.
You can view the ABCR Clinical Quality Indicators and Statistical Report 2014-2023 HERE.
The ABCR is led by Brain Cancer Australia in partnership with Cancer Alliance Queensland (CAQ) and the Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC) at CSIRO.
If you would like to learn more or discuss how to get involved, please contact us at info@braincanceraustralia.org.au
Donate tumour tissue to the Biobanking and Organoid Platform
Any adult or child who has been diagnosed with brain cancer can participate in biobanking – and help researchers.
Biobanks collect and store various types of clinical samples such as blood and tumour tissue and associated data from consenting donors for use in research.
Clinical samples are collected from patients during surgery for diagnosis and treatment. Any material not required for diagnosis can be stored in a biobank. Researchers with ethically approved projects can then apply to access samples and associated de-identified data for research.
Find a Biobank
You can find a full list HERE of brain cancer biobanks and hospitals collecting brain tumour tissue and other brain cancer related biospecimens.
Donate Tumour Tissue
If you would like to donate clinical samples your first step would be to speak with your treating clinician. If you require further assistance, please contact us at info@braincanceraaustralia.org.au
Join the Consortium
We invite clinicians and researchers working in the brain cancer community to join our national consortium dedicated to advancing Australia’s capacity for brain cancer research and equitable patient care.
By becoming a member, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside leading experts, and contribute to building the research infrastructure the entire brain cancer community needs to accelerate research and optimise patient care.
Join us in our mission to give everyone who can help defeat brain cancer what they need to do it.
Email Dr Mythily Sachchithananthan, BCA Project Manager at info@braincanceraustralia.org.
Together, we can make a powerful impact.
Publications
Australian Brain Cancer Registry: Clinical Quality Indicators and Statistical Report 2014-2023
The Australian Brain Cancer Registry: Clinical Quality Indicators and Statistical Report 2014-2023 was published in October 2025 with population-wide data from Queensland. Data from other states and territories will be progressively added during 2026 and 2027, expanding the ABCR to full national coverage.
“In the absence of effective brain cancer treatments, the fastest way to improve survival is to ensure every patient receives optimal care. The data already shows where care meets best practice and where there are gaps — a critical first step in lifting standards of care.” - Professor Lindy Jeffree.
What matters for people with brain cancer? Selecting clinical quality indicators for an Australian Brain Cancer Registry
BCA National Consortium Chair, Prof Lindy Jeffree, led the team developing this world-first set of clinical Indicators, which will benchmark the collection of data for BCA’s Australian Brain Cancer Registry initiative. The aim of this project is to identify, describe and measure the impact of variation and gaps in brain cancer care across Australia, with the overarching goal of ensuring that all brain cancer patients receive the best existing treatment.
Driving innovation through collaboration: development of clinical annotation datasets for brain cancer biobanking
A BCA working group developed the recommended brain cancer biobanking minimum clinical dataset to guide the integration of data from multiple existing biobanks for research studies and for planning prospective brain cancer biobanking activities
National Brain Cancer Biospecimen Register
If you would like to search for biospecimens and/or data for your research projects, you can do so via the portal below which links to the 11,000 biospecimens stored in our network of 20 biobanks. To request specimens and/or data, please email BCA Project Manager, Dr Mythily Sachchithananthan at info@braincanceraustralia.org.
