Survival rates for upper gastrointestinal cancers—like pancreatic, liver, stomach, biliary and oesophageal cancer—have barely shifted in decades, while more and more young people are facing diagnoses of these “silent killers”.
It’s a shameful reality that’s affecting families across the country, with these cancers making up the nation’s deadliest cancer group, which are often diagnosed too late.
While scientists are working to make strides in medical research in this space, a lack of long-term, sustainable funding has hampered progress, leaving patients without the treatment options they need. Unfortunately, public awareness of this cancer group is also limited.
It’s an issue that the Pancare Foundation is working to combat through the establishment of the Par 5 Initiative, a program designed to build a business-led approach to funding for upper gastrointestinal cancer research through revenue-sharing arrangements and procurement relationships.
Dr Kara Vine-Penrow, a Par 5 Ambassador and Group Leader of the Targeted Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory at the University of Wollongong, says the current funding model doesn’t support the long-term support needed to develop treatments for these cancers.
“I lead a lab that is essentially looking at how we can deliver drugs to where they need to go, so looking at improving drug delivery, and this is in particular to pancreatic cancer or inoperable pancreatic cancer,” Dr Vine-Penrow tells Women’s Agenda.
“Developing a new therapeutic or a new treatment for a disease, in particular, cancer, requires long term, sustainable funding.”
Dr Vine-Penrow says in the current funding environment, success rates for grants are low, and if you are successful in obtaining a grant, the one to three year timeline is not long enough to run the experiments needed.
“If you’re not successful in attracting further funding, then that has a direct impact on the progress of your research, because you lose momentum and you’re unable to support the running of those experiments,” she says.
“Most importantly, you are not able to retain the key staff that are vital in running those experiments.”
Dr Vine-Penrow was a key speaker at a Pancare ‘Women of Impact’ event in Sydney on Thursday morning, alongside former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who delivered a keynote. The event brought together Australia’s top women in business to accelerate breakthrough research and social impact.
“There is no better way of creating a wave of change than supporting Pancare, which is the primary voice for those facing the Upper Gastrointestinal GI cancers, which are among the most lethal,” Gillard told the audience.
“These cancers are often referred to as the silent killers, because symptoms are not specific, less visible and harder to diagnose.”
“Pancare is dedicated to ending the silence and ensures that even in the face of a daunting diagnosis, no one walks alone.”
Gillard also spoke about the role of women and gender equality in the future of health and medical research. She noted that women make up only 31 per cent of the global scientific workforce and in AI, that number drops to 22 per cent.
“Without focused action, as we see AI playing an increasing role in health and medical research, we are at risk of seeing fewer and fewer women,” Gillard said.
“When we’re talking about gender equality and health and medical research, we do note what we all know from our own families and lived experience and any data set you care to look at: that when a family member falls ill, caring work tends to be undertaken disproportionately by women who also make up the vast majority of the paid caring workforce.
“That is why it is especially important as women gathered in this room, we are visible in campaigning for and co-creating change systems of research and health care delivery, and today, as women leaders, together with our male friends, you will be given an opportunity to make that visible difference.”
Image: Dr Kara Vine-Penrow.