2023 VCCC Alliance Research Conference wrap
It’s a wrap for the 2023 VCCC Alliance Research Conference. From 12-13 September Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre was abuzz with activity as a host of inspirational speakers shared their research with a united ambition to improve outcomes for people affected by cancer.
The University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research had strong representation.
Dr Fanny Franchini from the Cancer Health Services Research team won Best Oral Presentation for her talk: PRIMCAT: A novel approach to informing Health Technology Assessment decision making in Australia. The presentation was part of a session called Translating technology to provide better cancer outcomes.
Allison Drosdowsky from the Cancer in Primary Care group won Best Poster Day 1 for her presentation: The association between time to treatment and colorectal cancer outcomes in Victoria: a linked-data study. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate existing evidence on the relationship between diagnostic and treatment intervals and outcomes for colorectal cancer.
Conference Co-convenor and Breast Cancer Research group lead Professor Christobel Saunders delivered the conference opening address and was a panellist for a Plenary session titled Immunotherapy replaces targeted therapy.
Professor Saunders also participated in the closing forum event called You Can’t Ask!, a no-holes-barred panel where attendees could ask big questions of leading cancer experts and consumers. The panel also featured Paul Baden – a UMCCR consumer with lived experience of cancer.
Other notable contributions include:
- Head of the Cancer in Primary Care research group, Professor Jon Emery presenting Preventing and detecting early cancer starts in the community.
- Professor Sarah Jane Dawson, head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Labpresenting Liquid biopsies and cancer as part of the Precision Oncology: delivering the future of cancer care session
- Dr Hadi Akbarzadeh Khorshidi from Cancer Health Services Research group presenting Implementation of whole genomic sequencing in cancer diagnosis: modelling and sensitivity analysis using system dynamics.
- Cancer Genomics researcher Dr Richard Rebello from the Rare Disease Oncogenomics lab was co-host of a workshop titled Practical genomics for oncology, where participants worked through clinical case studies and participated in interactive group discussions.
Congratulations to all UMCCR speakers involved and to the VCCC Alliance on delivering an informative and insightful conference.