Medical Oncology research

Medical Oncology is a clinical service incorporating a research program that provides coordinated multidisciplinary care for patients with a wide range of malignancies. Medical Oncology is part of the Alfred Cancer program.

Improving patient care is the goal of our research.

Covering all stages of research, we have a highly diverse team of cancer researchers in Monash University’s Central Clinical School, the Alfred Cancer Biobank, and within Alfred Cancer Trials. Collectively, our teams drive cutting-edge research from fundamental biology to clinical trials.

With the launch of the Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre  in 2024, our research will be fully integrated with clinical services, facilitating our research in ways that will be translated to patient care as quickly as possible.

'Bedside-to-bench-to-bedside' research

Our clinicians are committed to ‘bedside-to-bench-to bedside’ research, wherein the experiences of cancer patients and their carers are bases for laboratory research that leads to the next major breakthough, and laboratory discoveries are translated to clinical care.

As an example, read about how Prof Mark Shackleton (Director of Oncology) and his laboratory at Monash University turned a clinical observation in patient melanomas into a potential new treatment approach.

Biobank research

The Alfred Cancer Biobank provides critical research infrastructure that enables collaboration between patients, clinicians, researchers, and biotechnology partners. The Biobank is jointly established across Alfred Health and Monash University, with a mission to support innovative cancer research projects that aim to improve patient outcomes. 

Read more about how the Biobank works, projects supported by the Biobank, and the journey taken by this outstanding resource.

Clinical Trials

The team within Alfred Cancer Trials conducts clinical trials that investigate new drug therapies, such as targeted systemic treatments, immunotherapy and cell therapies, in patients with cancer. In line with the Alfred Cancer Programme’s Strategy (2020-2025).  Alfred Cancer Trials is committed to supporting all types of clinical trials, from first-in-human studies to collecting real world evidence of treatment outcomes, all with the back-up and support of the elite, full-service medical care capability provided by Alfred Health. Our trials provide our patients access novel treatments, and serve as essential conduits from scientific discovery to improved patient survival and well-being.

Read more about Philip’s (skin cancer survivor) experience participating in a life-saving clinical trial.

More to our team’s achievements and new appointments.

Publications

Diet and risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Wang SE, Hodge AM, Dashti SG, Dixon-Suen SC, Mitchell H, Thomas RJ, Williamson EM, Makalic E, Boussioutas A, Haydon AM, Giles GG, Milne RL, Kendall BJ, English DR

(2021), Public Health Nutr, 24(15), 5034-46

DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021000197

The role of local therapy in the treatment of solitary melanoma progression on immune checkpoint inhibition: A multicentre retrospective analysis

Versluis JM, Hendriks AM, Weppler AM, Brown LJ, de Joode K, Suijkerbuijk KPM, Zimmer L, Kapiteijn EW, Allayous C, Johnson DB, Hepner A, Mangana J, Bhave P, Jansen YJL, Trojaniello C, Atkinson V, Storey L, Lorigan P, Ascierto PA, Neyns B, Haydon A, Menzies AM, Long GV, Lebbe C, van der Veldt AAM, Carlino MS, Sandhu S, van Tinteren H, de Vries EGE, Blank CU, Jalving M

(2021), Eur J Cancer, 151, 72-83

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.04.003

Short-term treatment with multi-drug regimens combining BRAF/MEK-targeted therapy and immunotherapy results in durable responses in Braf-mutated melanoma

White MG, Szczepaniak Sloane R, Witt RG, Reuben A, Gaudreau PO, Andrews MC, Feng N, Johnson S, Class CA, Bristow C, Wani K, Hudgens C, Nezi L, Manzo T, De Macedo MP, Hu J, Davis R, Jiang H, Prieto P, Burton E, Hwu P, Tawbi H, Gershenwald J, Lazar AJ, Tetzlaff MT, Overwijk W, Woodman SE, Cooper ZA, Marszalek JR, Davies MA, Heffernan TP, Wargo JA

(2021), Oncoimmunology, 10(1), 1992880

DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2021.1992880

View all publications for Medical Oncology research
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