Help power a world-first cancer vaccine for children like Ava
“Too many kids with high-risk cancers, like Ava, are still dying. We must make a world where we can cure them.” – Dr Wayne Nicholls, Ava’s oncologist
At just seven years old, Ava was in very grave danger of becoming what her oncologist calls one of the “lovely ghosts” of cancer – one of the children who can’t be cured.
What was first thought to be a virus turned out to be stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer. It was throughout her abdomen and in just about every bone in her body.
Despite aggressive treatments including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and even multiple stem cell transplants, nothing was working. It was only after joining a trial at the Queensland Children’s Hospital that combined immunotherapy and chemotherapy, that Ava’s health made a dramatic turn.
“Ava’s cancer score at the start, I can’t remember if it was 23 or 21 — dropped to zero. It was like we’d won the lotto.”
The enormous promise of immunotherapy cannot be understated. It has already saved Ava’s life.
Now researchers at the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research are seeking new and more effective treatments for children with cancer.
Your donation can be part of the next exciting cancer breakthrough – the discovery of a world-first children’s cancer vaccine.
Your support for immunotherapy research will help create a world without children's cancer
Your donation ensures researchers at the Ian Frazer Centre can continue developing novel immunotherapy treatments over the next year. Vaccines that help children like Ava fight cancer.
A world-first children's cancer vaccine
How the Ian Frazer Centre for Children's Immunotherapy Research is revolutionising paediatric cancer treatment.
What is immunotherapy?
Unlike traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, immunotherapy activates the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. It is globally recognised as one of the most promising new approaches to childhood cancer treatment.
The challenge for children
Despite the unprecedented success of immunotherapy in curing countless adult cancers, children have not yet benefited from this revolutionary therapy. There remains a significant need to tailor these advanced treatments to the unique challenges presented by paediatric cancers.
Our mission at the Ian Frazer Centre
The team at the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research are working to develop novel cancer vaccines which are tailored to an individual child’s tumour’s specific genetic profile.
Ground breaking trials for children with cancer
The Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research arims to be the first to carry out a cancer vaccine trial in children with their Personal Immunity-Guided Cancer Vaccine (PIC-Vac), working to bring new hope to families and their children affected by cancer.
How this research works
Through the PIC-Vac project, it is hoped the child’s own immune system will be trained to identify abnormal cells in the body. Effectively, the immune system will then recognise those cells and clear the tumour, in the way the immune system naturally operates and works.
Help power a world-first cancer vaccine for children like Ava
Donate today to be part of the next exciting cancer breakthrough – the discovery of a world-first children's cancer vaccine.
