Aust'n cancer breakthrough offers children immediate tailored treatment

Children with a common type of brain tumor will receive personalized treatment for the first time after a landmark Australian research program.

Researchers at Melbourne's Hudson Institute of Medical Research (HIMR) and Monash Health were able to establish Australia's first molecular identification process for tumors to help doctors determine the best treatment plan.

The new process could mean the end of "one-size-fits-all" treatment which meant all children with tumors being treated with a similar surgery, chemotherapy and radiation plan which could be effective but could also cause intellectual disabilities and other issues later in life.

Jason Cain, research head at the HIMR, said the new process can analyze which of four subgroups a tumor belongs to within three weeks, compared to the previous three-month process which involved sending tumor samples to Germany for testing.

"It's become clear over the last five years that medulloblastoma (the most common type of brain cancer) is not a single disease, but comprised of at least four distinct subgroups," Cain told News Limited on Wednesday.

"Each of these subgroups have a different cause, prognosis, risk and response to therapies.

"There is a low-risk group that doesn't need the same amount of chemotherapy or radiation.

"There are also targeted therapies in clinical trials, and they do show some promising results, but are only effective in one high-risk subgroup. This is important information."

Katie Lloyd, whose son Zach had surgery at nine months old to remove a tumor the size of a golf ball, said she welcomed a future with tailored treatment.

"If they can work out a treatment plan that's not going to be as heavy as the chemo was, that will be so great because it was a very tough time," Lloyd told News Ltd newspapers on Wednesday.

Cain and his team are going through the process of analyzing tumor samples from former patients to guarantee the technique is flawless before it is used as a standard diagnostic tool. Endit