World first prostate cancer trial receives government funding injection

Minister for State Development John Mickel recently presented A$494 926 to the Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) to assist with the operating costs for a world first trial into a prostate cancer vaccine.

“MMRI is a world-class facility and its research programs have attracted top scientists from around the globe,” Mr Mickel said.

“While research projects receive individual funding, it's critical that we do not overlook the growing operational costs to maintain such a facility.

“The Beattie Government sees a future in which Queensland is a leading centre for health and medical research in Australia, particularly in the biomedical research sector and that's an area MMRI has made enormous progress in.”

Mr Mickel said the world-first dendritic cell (DC) Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial was headed by MMRI Director Professor Derek Hart who discovered dendritic cells in 1979.

DCs are specialised white blood cells produced in the bone marrow which initiate the body's immune response against foreign or infectious agents in the body such as cancer cells.

“Unfortunately cancer is very good at hiding from dendritic cells. The vaccine we are working on will effectively re-train the immune system to seek out and attack the cancer as it would launch an attack on a cold or flu,” Professor Hart said.

The Phase I trial which began just over twelve months ago focuses on assessing the safety of the new treatment. Five patients have been vaccinated to date.

“A further seven patients will be vaccinated in this phase but so far the vaccine has been well received by patients,” he said.

“While it is too early to tell if the vaccine has had any effect on the patients' conditions, the trial has progressed well, giving us confidence that it is safe.”

The money was provided through the Operational Support Program of the Smart State Health and Medical Research Fund (SSHMRF), which is designed to fund eligible independent medical research institutes to assist in meeting their operational costs.