A University of Newcastle research team has received a $2 million National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant to support its efforts in developing new treatments for diffuse midline glioma (DMG), the most lethal form of childhood cancer.
The funding was announced by Federal Health Minister Mark Butler as part of a $20 million Australian Government initiative to combat childhood brain cancers. The NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant will allow the Newcastle team to build on its work identifying treatment strategies for the disease, which currently has no cure.
University of Newcastle Professor of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Matt Dun, from HMRI’s Precision Medicine Research Program, said DMG, formerly known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), is responsible for more cancer-related deaths in children and young adults than any other form of the disease.
“Sadly, children diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma, on average, live less than a year after their diagnosis,” Professor Dun said.
“Currently, we lack an effective treatment like those developed for other high-risk cancers.”
Over the past seven years, Professor Dun and his team have identified genetic influences that could serve as drug targets and have investigated new drug combinations designed to target DMG.
Despite recent progress in understanding the disease and early-stage clinical trials, treatments have so far provided limited long-term survival benefits.
“Drawing from our evolving understanding of DMG, we aim to break the cycle of past failures by administering sequential treatments that exploit tumour-specific vulnerabilities,” Professor Dun said.
The project, Sequential & Temporal Therapeutic Agility for the Treatment of Diffuse Midline Glioma, will use artificial intelligence and advanced biomedical technologies to improve treatment strategies.
The team will develop the DMG-ADvanced mAchine-learning Precision Treatment Strategy (ADAPTS) to guide treatment plans for DMG patients. By analysing tumour, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and blood immune cell profiles, ADAPTS aims to optimise treatments and predict necessary adjustments.
“Our vision is to establish effective, life-sustaining treatment options by harnessing tumour and immune cell signatures in response to treatment,” Professor Dun said.
The $2 million NHMRC MRFF grant is part of a broader $20 million federal investment into Australian childhood brain cancer research.
Additional funding commitments include:
- RUN DIPG: $700,000 for clinical trial research (Stream 1) and $874,000 for early-stage research (Stream 2).
- The Little Legs Foundation: $874,000 towards Professor Dun’s project.
- Mark Hughes Foundation: $200,000 for Professor Dun’s research and $300,000 for Stream 1 initiatives.
“This grant honours the memory of the 20 to 25 Australian children who die from DMG each year and provides hope to future families facing this unimaginable diagnosis,” Professor Dun said.
“Our goal is to find solutions that offer these children a chance at life.”
IMAGE | Professor Matt Dun
