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    • What is cancer?
    • Types of cancer
      • Bowel cancer
      • Blood cancers
      • Breast cancer
      • Lung cancer
      • Melanoma
      • Prostate cancer
      • View 45 other cancers
    • Coping with a diagnosis
      • Coping with emotions
      • Tests and scans
      • Talking to kids about cancer
      • Cancer and your finances
      • Cancer and work
      • Cancer care and your rights
    • Cancer treatment
      • Treatment options
      • Chemotherapy
      • Radiation therapy
      • Surgery
      • Immunotherapy
      • Targeted therapy
      • Hormone therapy
      • Clinical trials
      • Palliative treatment
    • Managing side effects
      • Fatigue
      • Taste and smell changes
      • Heart health and cancer
      • Hair loss
      • Pain and cancer
      • Peripheral neuropathy
      • Changes in thinking and memory
      • Lymphoedema
      • Mouth health
      • Nutrition and cancer
      • Breast prostheses and reconstruction
      • Fertility
      • Sexuality
    • Supporting someone with cancer
      • Caring for someone with cancer
      • Caring for someone with advanced cancer
      • Family and friends
      • Supportive schools
      • Supportive workplaces
      • Caring for mob with cancer
    • Living well during and after treatment
      • Nutrition and cancer
      • Exercise and cancer
      • Complementary therapies
      • Living well after treatment
    • Advanced cancer
      • Living with advanced cancer
      • Caring for someone with advanced cancer
      • Palliative care
      • Facing end of life
      • Coping with grief
    • Information for your community
      • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples
      • Resources in different languages
      • Easy Read resources
      • Resources for LGBTQI+ people
    • Fact sheets, podcasts and more
      • Cancer resource hub – fact sheets, booklets and more
      • Cancer Council Podcasts
  • Get Support
    Our cancer helpline consultants are ready for your call to support all people impacted by cancer. We may be able to assist with direct support services or by putting you in touch with other people who can support you.
    • 13 11 20 – Speak to a cancer professional
    • How can we help you
      • Accommodation during treatment
      • Cancer Counselling
      • Financial Support
      • Legal & Workplace Support
      • Transport to treatment
      • Support after treatment
    • Connect with others
    • Online community
    • Coping with a diagnosis
      • Coping with emotions
      • Talking to kids about cancer
      • Cancer and your finances
      • Cancer and work
      • Cancer care and your rights
    • Health care professionals
    • Cancer stories
    • Cancer podcasts
    • Meditation and relaxation podcasts
  • Preventing Cancer
    Discover lifestyle choices to minimise your risk of getting cancer and the importance of screening and early detection for cancer survival.
    • Healthy diet and exercise
      • Limit alcohol
      • Be a healthy weight
      • Move more, sit less
      • Healthy Made Tasty
      • Our Kids Our Call
    • Quit smoking and vaping
      • Quit smoking
      • Tackling Tobacco
      • Smoke free environments
      • Electronic cigarettes
      • Generation Vape
    • Sun protection
      • Slip on a shirt
      • Slop on sunscreen
      • Slap on a hat
      • Seek shade
      • Slide on sunglasses
      • SunSmart NSW website
      • Improve your long game
      • Outdoor workers
      • Sporting groups
      • Buy sun protection products online
    • Screening and early detection
      • Cervical screening
      • Bowel cancer screening
      • Breast cancer screening
      • Lung cancer screening
      • Testicular cancer
      • Prostate cancer
      • Ovarian cancer
      • Liver cancer and hepatitis B
      • Check for skin cancer
    • CanAct – campaigning for better policies
    • Cancer Council shops
  • Research
    Research programs save lives, improve treatments and quality of life for cancer survivors.
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      • The Daffodil Centre
      • I-PaRCS
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    • Search research by cancer type or topic
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      • Fundraise your way – Do It For Cancer
      • Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea
      • Daffodil Day
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  • Improving outcomes for a devasting childhood leukaemia

Improving outcomes for a devasting childhood leukaemia

Professor Richard Lock
Professor Richard Lock Children’s Cancer Institute $447,281 2023-2025

Background

Each year, around 50 Australian children are diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) – a particularly devasting blood cancer for children. While there have been significant improvements in survival across most childhood blood cancers, the 5-year survival rate for children with AML has plateaued at around 70%. The standard treatments for childhood AML are high-intensity chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. These potent treatments are also toxic to healthy cells and cause side effects that impact a child’s quality of life. More effective and less damaging treatments are needed to improve outcomes for children with AML. 

The research

Cancer is a complex disease characterised by abnormal gene behaviours and unstable DNA. A subset of genes called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are the most diverse class of genetic molecules in cells. Once believed to be “junk DNA”, recent research has shown that they play a role in cancer development and growth and that their expression is highly specific to cancer cells. This makes lncRNAs an ideal target for potential new cancer treatments that will spare healthy cells of the body. Professor Lock leads one of the few teams globally who are investigating the treatments for targeting lncRNAs in paediatric AML.  

In this project, Professor Lock and his team will investigate lncRNAs specifically in childhood AML. Using patient information, robust genetic data, pre-clinical models and gene-silencing technologies, the team will identify the non-coding RNAs in childhood AML and test different approaches for switching off their capacity to drive cancer growth. 

The Impact

The study of lncRNAs is still an emerging area of cancer research. The findings generated from this study will significantly influence this field of research and provide new treatment approaches for childhood AML. If the team’s research is successful, they will be well-placed to progress to a clinical trial for a much–needed and less toxic treatment with the potential to improve survival and quality of life outcomes for children with this devastating cancer. 

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