Our impact on oesophageal cancer research
Despite being a rare cancer, many of our supporters and team at The Aftershock have been closely affected by oesophageal cancer. Thanks to ongoing support from our wonderful donors, we have been able to help fund critical research into oesophageal cancer in partnership with Monash University and Alfred Health.
The best chance of surviving oesophageal cancer is usually a treatment combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. That said, surgery remains the mainstay of curative treatment, and without it, cure rates would decline to an estimated 5% only.
Oesophageal cancer (cancer of the gullet) is the ninth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. It’s a rare and highly fatal disease and one of the few to have increased substantially over the past three decades.
Fewer than 50% of people diagnosed will survive more than one year. Early detection is critical to survival, along with a combined treatment regime using chemotherapy and radiotherapy before and after surgery. This approach improves survival but results in complications and substantial deconditioning.
“We must preserve quality, not just quantity of life.” – Professor Wendy Brown.
The model of care for people diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is currently fragmented, with a wide range of specialists involved in assessing complex care needs, both before and after surgery. The long and highly invasive surgery that removes the oesophagus and lifts the stomach to create a new oesophagus can severely reduce the quality of life. There can be complications around the new oesophagus not functioning as well as the stomach would in its natural state and position. Patients regurgitate food contents from their stomachs back into their mouths, resulting in poor nutrition and reduced quality of life. Long term survival and quality of life are both low.
“Understanding what factors affect the new oesophagus’s function is the first step in refining our reconstruction techniques to enable the best quality of life for patients,” says Dr Kaleb Lourensz.
“We have collaborated with the radiology department to develop a technique using high fidelity dynamic MRI scans to understand what factors influence the function of the new oesophagus. After performing 30 of these scans, we have found certain anatomical features have a major effect, and we presented our findings at the recent Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Conference. This novel research technique has shown great promise, and we hope this will have a real-world impact on refining surgical practise to improve quality of life outcomes for patients.”
Professor Brown and her team are working toward an integrated hub of world-class research and care to combine the expertise of a range of clinicians on the frontline, who have firsthand knowledge of what patients are going through, and the scientists who can uncover the missing pieces of the puzzle, to deliver new and more effective treatments.
This initiative is in its infancy but stands to set new practices and standards of care in Australia.
If you’re interested in knowing more or would like to get involved please contact Suz via suz@theaftershock.org.
