The Newsletter of ANZUP Cancer Trials Group Limited
SUMMER 2016
YEAR IN REVIEW
Below the Belt Research Fund 2016 has been a record year in many ways for ANZUP. The 2015 Below the Belt Pedalthon saw the establishment of the Below the Belt Research fund: $150k raised from the race was put aside as seed funding for investigator led studies. After the amazing success of the 2016 Pedalthon, that funding pool will amazingly now double. Pedalthon Founder Simon Clark said “I can say from my experience so far, the biggest impact often comes from the smallest act.” Thanks to many more generous small acts from riders, donors, volunteers and sponsors $300k was raised through the 2016 Below the Belt Pedalthon, a remarkable achievement. ANZUP will put all of those funds towards successful application grants in 2017.
$420K
available in
2017
APPLICATIONS OPEN FEBRUARY 2017
In early 2016, $150k of funding was awarded to three projects across testicular cancer, prostate cancer and bladder cancer. These funds are currently being put to great use and you can read more about the progress of these projects inside this issue of UPdate. Next year, funding will grow substantially. Thanks to an astonishing fundraising effort at the Below the Belt Pedalthon, and an additional $120k raised by an incredibly generous patient, the Below the Belt Research Fund will have $420k in funding available. ANZUP will be able to create an even greater pipeline of new ideas in order to keep trial momentum moving forward in 2017. A call for applications will be made in February. We can’t wait to see just how much more we can achieve. ANZUP thanks all the sponsors, donors, participants, volunteers and riders who have helped grow the Below the Belt Pedalthon and the funding pool of the Below the Belt Research fund.
MORE ‘YEAR IN REVIEW’ INSIDE
Hello and welcome to ‘UPdate’ Inside you will hear about: ANZUP 2016 Year in Review – Below the Belt Research Fund . . . . . . . 1 Message from the Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ANZUP 2016 Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ANZUP 2016 Year in Review . . . . . . . . . 8 Updates from SAC & Subcommittee Chairs . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Upcoming 2017 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Other News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Message from the Chair Welcome to this latest edition of UPdate, the newsletter of the Australian & New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group Ltd (ANZUP). ANZUP continues to power ahead in its core business of clinical trials. You will read more about this elsewhere in the newsletter. We have active trials in prostate cancer, urothelial cancer and germ cell cancer, and three trials well advanced in planning for renal cell cancer. These trials collectively involve thousands of patients, and thousands of hours of work by a very large number of people. None of it would be possible without the commitment and support provided by all our members and their clinical and research teams. We all know that clinical research must be done to a very high standard and that this is not easy to achieve. It requires substantial dedication, robust systems, and provision of effective support when it is needed. Sometimes our trials can be part of an existing clinical trials system at a particular site, in which case processes are often already established and there can be economies of scale in running ANZUP and other cooperative group trials together with other studies. In other cases the ANZUP trial might be the only one, or a major part of a site’s activities, and the necessary infrastructure might be new or relatively untested. This is when support from ANZUP, our coordinating centre partners, or other researchers might be of most value. We want to hear from you if you are facing these challenges so that we can provide you with the support you need and continue to grow our trials capability across all of our member sites. Keep the ANZUP ClinTrials Refer app close to hand for easy reference! It is also sometimes easy for a trial to slip to the back of our consciousness when we are no longer recruiting. We will face this for ENZAMET sometime in the next few months when we anticipate that we will meet our recruitment target (we are over 80% recruited now). It remains critically important to have careful oversight of these patients and the trial conduct in this situation, as patients continue on treatment or followup and data continue to be collected. Many of our trials involve life-long followup of the patient and the “tail” of trial activity can continue for many years in some cases.
2 | ANZUP UPdate
Message from the Chair continued
Momentum in trial activity can be difficult to build and it is important to maintain it when it is there, to ensure that systems continue to work well and of course to take advantage of established processes for identification of participants and streamlining of referral processes. ANZUP tries to think ahead and anticipate what the next set of questions will be. Trial design and planning needs to be in place ideally well before the previous trial finishes recruitment so that we can transfer the momentum to the new trial. Occasionally events outside our control mean that this is not possible. One example is the forthcoming RAMPART adjuvant trial in renal cell carcinoma. This has been in planning for several years and circumstances have pushed timelines back and also at times resulted in changes to the trial’s design. RAMPART will go ahead but it is now likely to begin late in 2017. It remains a very important clinical question and an excellent trial design. Some sites might choose to maintain recruitment momentum from SORCE, or take advantage of new referral patterns, to participate in an industry-sponsored trial before then. Of course that is entirely reasonable but we hope that when RAMPART becomes available that you will be able to make this your priority. Similar questions arise in other diseases and indications as well. An exciting initiative mentioned in the last UPdate newsletter was the collaboration between ANZUP and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia to fundraise and reserve funds specifically for prostate cancer clinical trials. This is a groundbreaking initiative that we hope to see continue for a long time. Work is well advanced on protocol development and we will be able to communicate the details of the study to you soon once some resource questions have been addressed. A lot of other activity has been happening, both behind the scenes and in front. The ANZUP GU Preceptorship in Prostate Cancer was held in Sydney on 26-27 August 2016. This was the second time the preceptorship has run and we are very grateful to Eva Segelov and Jeremy Shapiro once again for leading this initiative. The preceptorship was an intense 1.5 days in which everyone,
preceptors included, learned a great deal and went home exhausted but elated. We plan to continue this program in future years and are considering moving into other disease types. Thanks to our sponsors Astellas, Ipsen, Janssen and Novartis for their support. ANZUP 2016 GU PRECEPTORSHIP IN PROSTATE CANCER
Free ClinTrial Refer ANZUP App
ClinT
rial R Aust efer ra Urog lian & Ne wZ en Canceital and P ealand ro r Tria ls Gro state up
The ClinTrial Refer ANZUP app provides a current list of clinical research trials conducted in cancer centres in Australia and New Zealand. Designed for oncologists, general practitioners, research unit staff and patients, ClinTrial Refer ANZUP has searchable clinical research trial details, hospital locations and contacts, and inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Available for download from Apple iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/clintrialrefer-anzup/id894317413?mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.lps.anzup&hl=en
ANZUP UPdate | 3
Message from the Chair continued BEST OF GU SYMPOSIUM
The ANZUP Best of GU evening was held in Melbourne on 25 October 2016. This was a rapid fire but in-depth review of everything important in GU cancers for the last year. It included fantastic presentations by Arun Azad, Shankar Siva, Joseph Ischia and Kath Schubach, under the great leadership of Carmel Pezaro and Shomik Sengupta. The social media hashtag #ANZUPGU16 got a serious workout on the evening! Thanks once again to our sponsors Astellas, Sanofi, Janssen, Tolmar and Novartis. 2016 BELOW THE BELT PEDALTHON
The annual Below the Belt Pedalthon was held at Eastern Creek on Tuesday 20 September 2016. Amazingly, and as a testament to the influence that Marg McJannett and Lucy Byers have on Higher Powers, the weather was once again completely perfect. We had 49 teams and nearly 300 riders, which again was a terrific turnout. The participants were a mix of casual riders, some of whom pootled around the track and simply enjoyed the day and being part of the wonderful effort; and some terrifyingly serious riders with leg powers mortals are simply not meant to have. The Pedalthon is intended to raise awareness of these cancers and of the importance of clinical trials, and everyone involved had a very clear understanding of 4 | ANZUP UPdate
this and made every effort to get the message out. The fundraising aspect of the event was also a great success, with more than $290k being raised and which will now be used directly to support new research projects through our Below the Belt Research Fund. Watch out for more information on this in this newsletter. Thanks to Simon, Lucy, Marg, Christine, AJ, Lesley, Jo, Liz and everyone who contributed so much to making this event a howling success once again. Thank you of course also to our very generous riders, support teams, donors and sponsors. Planning is now well advanced for the ANZUP Annual Scientific Meeting to be held in Melbourne on 16-18 July 2017. The theme of the 2017 ASM is “The Art & Science of Best Practice.” Excellence in health care and research does not occur by accident but requires commitment, effort, and the generation and application of evidence. It goes beyond that though, because humans are not computers: good care involves taking care and, most importantly, caring. There is still room for the art in medicine while we continue to build its science base. The ASM will include five wonderful international speakers: Silke Gillessen (medical oncologist, St Gallen Switzerland; and Chair of the EORTC GU Group); Robert Lee (Radiation Oncologist, Duke University, USA); Alex Kutikov (Associate Professor of Urologic Surgical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia); Bente Thoft Jensen (Senior Researcher, Department of Urology, Aarhus University, Denmark); and Peter Black (Urologist, Vancouver Prostate Centre, Canada). Added to this is a galaxy of local stars, together with our regular features of the MDT Masterclass, PCFA nurses’ symposium, community forum, open SAC meeting, evening symposium, the company annual general meeting, our inaugural translational research symposium and the main program covering all our areas of interest. Now is the time to lock it into your diary and make sure your colleagues and trainees are there! We will once again be making travel grants available and more information about these will come soon. 2017 shows no sign of slowing down. We are already in the process of arranging concept development workshops and a range of other activities throughout the year. Hopefully by now you are convinced yet again that there are many good reasons to be involved in ANZUP. We are committed to growing the community of clinicians and
Message from the Chair continued researchers in GU cancer and to giving our up-and-coming colleagues every opportunity to take on future leadership roles. Please contact us if you want to know more about these opportunities or other ways in which you can be involved in supporting ANZUP and its work. Thanks as always to those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep ANZUP running and to make all this activity not only possible but highly successful. Thanks to my fellow Board directors; the ANZUP staff (Christine, Lucy and Anne); our CEO Marg McJannett; the SAC and subcommittee chairs, deputy chairs and members; our brilliant Consumer Advisory Panel, which keeps us focused; our volunteers Lesley Tinkler and Jo Stubbs; our colleagues and collaborators at NHMRC CTC, BaCT and elsewhere; our corporate supporters, sponsors and donors; and our families who sustain us and so often are the reason for all that we do. Farewell to Jade and AJ and thanks for all your great work with us.
Can you help us find the next great patient story? A little below the belt Conducting clinical trial research to improve the treatment of bladder, kidney, testicular & prostate cancer
BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE AT OUR 2016 COMMUNITY FORUM - SUNDAY JULY 10
ANZUP “seemed like a good idea at the time” when we set it up and it is clear to me and our more than 1100 members that this is still the case, but there is far more work to do. We rely on the generous donations of time, effort and resources so many of you make so effectively and so cheerfully. It is easy to see the direct link between this and the positive outcomes of what we are doing. Thanks, thanks, and by the way: thanks. Wishing you all a Safe and Happy Festive Season. Please enjoy this edition of UPdate. IAN DAVIS ANZUP Chair
Twitter Did you know ANZUP is now tweeting to over 1200 followers? Our community are sharing trial updates and news across Twitter. We’re always interested in retweeting your thoughts, stories and insights with the rest of our followers. At our ASM our #ANZUP16 thread made over 1.2 million impressions in 3 days. Follow @ANZUPtrials and start communicating with leading professionals today.
DETAILS PAGE 3
AN ANZUP CANCER TRIALS GROUP PUBLICATION
ISSUE 5, JULY 2016
Have you read our consumer magazine “A little below the belt”? The Magazine is produced twice a year; and provides consumers, cancer centres, families of patients, corporate supporters and philanthropists with a lay understanding of what ANZUP does, trials that are open and recruiting, definitions of cancer and treatment terms, stories from our patients currently on trials and our fundraising activities. The last issue had a focus on our regional and remote patients. We were delighted to be asked to send replacement copies to a number of cancer centres. Patients respond well to the educative nature of the magazine and also, in particular, the interviews conducted with our trial patients. Do you have a patient on a trial with an interesting story or passionate belief in the benefit of being on a clinical trial? Please email lucy.byers@anzup.org.au. We know patients take the magazine home and digest over a few weeks. Please consider having the magazine available in your rooms or consider referring your patient to the ANZUP website to read the magazine online. If you would like copies contact ANZUP. You can read ‘A little below the belt’ here.
ANZUP UPdate | 5
ANZUP 2016 Highlights MEMBERSHIP
15%
1118 members
3.4 FTE STAFF
since last year
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS 2015
STAFF
2016
PROSTATE
FROM 3.0
PCFA PARTNERSHIP PROSTATE RENAL
$1.5M
GERM CELL
OVER 3 YEARS
NEW
BLADDER
NUMBER OF
PATIENTS ON OUR TRIALS 1,414 TOTAL
PAIN-Free TRUS B
30 P3BEP
30
ENZAMET
909 BL12
28
BCGMM
83
PCRMIB
0
FUNDS RAISED
$300K
18% 6 | ANZUP UPdate
49
TEAMS
299
RIDERS
ENZARAD
334
NOW OPEN
ANZUP 2016 Highlights AWARDS AND GRANTS NEW
UP TO
NEW
$150,000
$60,000
$10,000
BELOW THE BELT RESEARCH FUND
TOLMAR FELLOWSHIP
ASTELLAS YOUNG INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR
ASM 2016
ATTENDEES
ATTENDEES
26
ANZUP TRIAL COORDINATOR SCHOLARSHIPS
ANZUP/ BAYER TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FORUM
297 ATTENDEES
GU PRECEPTORSHIP IN PROSTATE CANCER
12
54
80
ATTENDEES
70
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
8
13%
BEST OF GU EVENING SYMPOSIUM
PHARMA UP FROM 6
6
NON-PHARMA UP FROM 2
COMMUNICATIONS NEW ANZUP WEBSITE
3
ANZUP CLINICAL NEWSLETTERS
2
CONSUMER MAGAZINES
113,672 TOTAL PAGE VIEWS
1,268 TWITTER FOLLOWERS
17%
1,22M ASM TWITTER IMPRESSIONS
ANZUP UPdate | 7
ANZUP 2016 Year in Review MEET THE PROFESSORS BREAKFAST ANZUP IN ACTION
ANZUP GU PRECEPTORSHIP IN PROSTATE CANCER
The 2016 ANZUP Prostate Cancer Preceptorship was a fantastic combination of education and catching up with old (and new) friends. Although all participants had taken part in various MDT meetings at their home hospitals, the Preceptorship was an opportunity to participate in a oneof-a-kind MDT meeting. Urologists, medical and radiation oncologists, and registrars from various states combined and contributed to a rigorous, stimulating and at times entertaining update on prostate cancer. The educational component was interactive and punchy. Over the two days, a timeline was followed from prostate cancer screening to palliation. Regular contributions from experts in each field provided a reliable framework within which the seminal publications were presented. Daily round table discussions were a highlight as registrars had an opportunity to engage in MDT discussion of their own with expert guidance. The social aspects of the meeting were particularly enjoyable. Catching up with old friends from other states and networking with new colleagues was also a highlight. The venue (Intercontinental Double Bay) was well appointed and perfectly suited to the group size. Overall, the Preceptorship was a meeting with very high educational value and plenty of opportunity to socialise (the perfect meeting?). I highly recommend registrars avail themselves of the opportunity to attend future Preceptorships in the genitourinary stream. ISAAC THANGASAMY, Urology Registar
ANZUP 2016 GU PRECEPTORSHIP IN PROSTATE CANCER FEEDBACK 54 ATTENDEES 57% MEDICAL ONCOLOGY 29% UROLOGY 14% RADIATION ONCOLOGY
85%
SAID THE PRECEPTORSHIP WAS ABOVE AND BEYOND THEIR EXPECTATIONS
93% SOMEWHAT OR SIGNIFICANTLY
RATE THE FACILITATION OF THE PRECEPTORSHIP
79% 11% 11% EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
WILL THE PRECEPTORSHIP CHANGE YOUR CLINICAL PRACTICE?
64% 29%
GOOD
71% SOMEWHAT
WOULD DEFINITELY IGNIFICANTLY A T T ESN D A PRECEPTORSHIP IN ANOTHER GENITOURINARY TYPE
AVERAGE SESSIONS SCORES (OUT OF 5)
4.43 PATHWAYS
4.75 SEMINAL PAPERS
THINGS DONE VERY WELL WELL ORGANISED, KEEPING TO TIME, GREAT MENTORS, SELECTION OF P A P E R S, P R E C E P T O R S K N O W L E D G E , BREADTH OF TOPICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
8 | ANZUP UPdate
WILL IT CHANGE YOUR CLINICAL PRACTICE?
4.48 QUIZ THE EXPERT
THINGS TO IMPROVE MORE TIME FOR DISCUSSION, MDT DISCUSSION FORMAT, MORE EARLY STAGE DISEASE, REMOVE COMPETITIVE ELEMENT, TIMELY FEEDBACK ON SLIDES
BELOW THE BELT PEDALTHON The 2016 Below the Belt Pedalthon was a huge success. The day was full of energy with brilliant competitive team spirit as 49 teams and nearly 300 riders cycled their hearts out on a perfect spring day on one of the most exciting tracks in Australia. Everyone was there to raise awareness and funds of Below the Belt cancers, as well as the importance of clinical trials, and the role they play in fighting cancer. We are thrilled to announce that we have raised just under $300K and 100% of those funds will be allocated to the Below the Belt Research Fund. The goal of the fund is to create a pipeline of new ideas to keep trial momentum moving forward. Race founder Simon Clarke flew in from New York and joined triple Gold Medallist and the Pedalthon Ambassador Kaarlee McCulloch, and a host of special guests, on the track. This year welcomed the addition of a DJ half way around the track, which kept the riders pedalling faster. The breadth of teams and industries represented shows the extent of partnerships we’re building and the range of people willing to give up their time and money to support ANZUP. The day’s honours went to Norton Rose Fulbright Racers: our 2016 Below the Belt Champions! The team did 179 laps in 3 hours. A special mention also goes to Ronald Visser from Origin Energy who took out the sprint challenge. Congratulations to the Clayton Utz Girls Team – Sonia, Caitlin, Cilla, Rachel, Madeleine and Gabrielle who raised $11,206 to the highest individual fundraiser Sonia Goumenis who raised $5,800 – a truly amazing effort. A special thank you to our ANZUP team, many of whom took an annual leave day to ride in our race. The Pedalthon is back in 2017 so save 19 September in your diary and make your way to Sydney.
W W W. B E L O W T H E B E LT. O R G . A U ANZUP UPdate | 9
ANZUP 2016 Year in Review BEST OF GU ONCOLOGY EVENING SYMPOSIUM In association with USANZ, ANZUP held the annual ‘Best of GU Oncology Evening Symposium’ in Melbourne on 25th October. The event was well attended, with approximately 70 participants from around Melbourne and beyond, representing a broad sample of the multidisciplinary genitourinary team. It was impressive to see ‘home grown’ Australian research featured amongst the highlights. Each of the speakers provided thoughtful summaries and critiques, which were well received by the audience and sparked lively discussions during question time. Kath Schubach also made a strong case for the involvement of nurses in ANZUP and drummed up enthusiasm for putting forward concepts, abstracts and presentations for the 2017 ANZUP ASM. We extend sincere thanks to the sponsors, without whom these educational events would not be possible. Especial thanks to Lucy for managing the technological gremlins that devoured the microphone! Finally, thank you to Marg and her ANZUP team for putting together a highly enjoyable and educational evening. CARMEL PEZARO, Symposium Chair The Best of GU evening speakers were filmed and are now available to members to view in the secure section of the ANZUP website.
Log in and watch the Best of GU presentations now!
As a new member of ANZUP, I appreciated the opportunity to attend the Best of GU Oncology Symposium in Melbourne. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet ANZUP members across all disciplines and to hear each specialty summarize recent results. The expert perspective on relevance and applicability of trial results within Australian centres was a critical aspect of the event. I am the Urology Fellow at the Royal Darwin Hospital which is the tertiary referral centre for GU oncology in the Northern Territory. The RDH GU oncology multidisciplinary team serves a large catchment area and faces the challenge of a predominantly remote population. Many of our cancer referrals are locally advanced or metastatic at presentation. Logistical and geographic barriers to medical treatment in the region can lead to significant delays in consultation and follow up. Early referrals are the only way to ensure our remote patients receive the optimized cancer treatment they would be afforded in a major metropolitan centre. With many of the current clinical trials targeting clinically advanced disease we are ideally positioned to recruit patients for trials. Active engagement of Urologists in the ANZUP community ensures that our patients benefit from clinical trial recruitment. Knowledge of the trial target populations is imperative to identify candidate patients before inclusion criteria timelines expire. The engagement of the Darwin multi-disciplinary team within the Australian GU oncology community, through events such as the Best of GU Oncology Symposium, allows us to collaborate on a national level and continue to offer the best possible care to our Northern Territory patients. CLARE GARDINER Urology Fellow, Royal Darwin Hospital
SPEAKERS:
10 | ANZUP UPdate
Dr Arun Azad ‐ The Year in Review: PD‐1, PD‐1 and more PD‐1
Ms Kath Schubach ‐ What’s up at ANZUP? A nursing perspective
Dr Shankar Siva ‐ Precision radiotherapy, updates in 2016
Dr Joseph Ischia ‐ What is at the cutting edge of Urology in 2016?
ANZUP 2016 Year in Review NZ GENITO-URINARY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ONCOLOGY MEETING 19TH OCTOBER 2016 ANZUP had a significant presence at the recent NZ Genito-Urinary Special Interest Group Oncology meeting in Dunedin, New Zealand. For the last two years both Ian Davis and Marg McJannett have travelled to New Zealand for this meeting to encourage New Zealand representation in ANZUP and develop further links with the New Zealand clinical trials network. The meeting is an annual event and held in conjunction with the New Zealand Urology Section meeting. It is attended by a multi-disciplinary group including Urologists, Medical Oncologists, Radiation Oncologists, Clinical nurse specialists in Urology and Oncology and industry representatives. Ian kindly agreed to not only talk about ANZUP and the advantages of being a member, but also to present some recent prostate cancer data with one of the most interesting paper titles of the day “Changing climates in Prostate Cancer: Have we CHAARTED the ICECaP?” The talks were very well received and I’m sure will encourage further interest in ANZUP in New Zealand. We also met with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand to discuss possible future opportunities to work together. It was a productive meeting and we’ll have more updates to make early in 2017. NICK BUCHAN Clinical Director Department of Urology Canterbury District Health Board
As a senior Urology trainee, I had the privilege to attend the GU Oncology session as part of the Urology Section Meeting in Dunedin, NZ. This year, the obvious highlight was the involvement of ANZUP, represented strongly by its Chair, Dr. Ian Davis. His sessions on castrate resistant prostate cancer were particularly informative along with giving us a realistic perspective on how to manage these patients day to day. This was followed by a presentation on an innovative initiative within NZ to create a national prostate cancer database which will come into effect within the next year. This database is intended to measure outcomes, improve patient safety and provide us with a nationwide tool to audit our practise. Lastly, a debate on oligometastatic disease made it evident that this is an exicting area of medicine that carries a huge potential for research. ANZUP has long been involved within multiple NZ centres, however events like these raise its awareness, with nonmembers quickly understanding its offerings. As a trainee, I thank the organisation for showing active participation in such meetings. As an ANZUP member, it makes me eager to spread its message. MANMEET SALUJA Trainee
Have a Safe and Happy Holiday
ANZUP UPdate | 11
ANZUP 2016 Year in Review ANZUP CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS 2016
This year, ANZUP has worked to streamline the concept review process to ensure a clear and transparent process:
IDEA
Each ANZUP tumour stream has established a Concept Development working Group to review ideas and concepts. Anyone from the 1000 + ANZUP members are welcome to submit concepts to the multidisciplinary working group comprising medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, nursing, statisticians, allied health, psycho oncologists and health economists to review and receive feedback. Concepts range from forming ideas to clinical trials and are all welcome. 2016 has been a busy year for the ANZUP Concept Development Working (CDW) Groups. 29 new concepts were submitted and 8 have reached the stage of full protocol development. Many of the remaining concepts are in ongoing development:
CDW
SAC
WORKING GROUP
• New Idea or concept • Complete Concept outline
• Reviewed by MDM team worshop • Written feedback
• S AC Endorsement based on Subcommittee recommendations
• W orking group for development, mentoring and support
We continue to encourage multidisciplinary submissions from anyone in our ANZUP membership with a new idea or concept that will improve the outcomes of urogenital cancers.
2016 Concept Development workshops New Concepts
Protocol development
Bladder
9
2
Renal
5
3
Prostate
9
1
Testicular
3
1
Other
3
1
Total
29
8
Tumour Stream
Protocol Development
Bladder
New Concepts
Renal Prostate Testicular Other 0 12 | ANZUP UPdate
2
4
6
8
10
ANNE WOOLLETT Clinical Trials Project Manager
Concept Development Process
Member submits concept to CDW, ASM concept session or disease-specific subcommittees
Reviewed by Subcommittee Chair, Deputy and multidisciplinary review panel
Feedback provided and small working group assigned to progress or
Not supported – no further development
Presented to subcommittee for feedback and / or endorsement. Approve or
Recommend further development to working group then represent to subcommittee
Presented to SAC for review and approval to go forward for further development and submission for funding.
CAP Review and feedback provided QoL & SC Review and feedback C&TR Review and feedback provided
Ops Exec Review
Funding application Awarded Funding or
Unsuccessful Subcommittee and Ops Exec Review Consider resubmission
Protocol development working group
Conduct Research
Ops Exec
Trial TMC(s), international committees if applicable, HREC processes, IDSMC, other committees as required
Reporting to stakeholders: members, funders ANZUP UPdate | 13
UPDATES FROM SAC & SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) The ANZUP Scientific Advisory Committee is set up to ensure that ANZUP continues to have a broad base of disciplines steering its scientific and strategic direction. The SAC reviews trial concepts and overall research strategies in order to align them with ANZUP’s strategic plan, and provides advice on prioritisation when this is needed. More recently the SAC has been thinking about its processes and taking a longer term strategic view. A face to face meeting has been planned for late November, at which time we will give careful and specific thought to our processes in order to ensure that they are robust but at the same time responsive and quick when necessary. This will allow us to continue to perform the best science while taking advantage of opportunities that come to
ANZUP Membership benefits include: • Access to a multidisciplinary network for Urogenital and Prostate cancer researchers, including clinicians, nurses, psychologists, scientists, allied health and consumer representatives • Opportunity to contribute to the scientific and strategic development of ANZUP through its SAC and subcommittees • Support for the development of investigator-initiated studies
14 | ANZUP UPdate
us, often unpredictably or with short notice. The SAC will also continue to give thought as to how best to engage the wider membership in ANZUP activities, and also what sort of strategic links can be formed to optimise the value we can derive from every trial. The SAC will continue to meet by teleconference in 2017 and once again will hold a face to face open meeting during the ASM in July. All ANZUP members are welcome and encouraged to attend that open meeting and contribute to the conversation. Thank you to all the SAC members and contributors for your great work and support. IAN DAVIS Chair, ANZUP Scientific Advisory Committee
• Mentoring and support of young investigators across all our research activities • ANZUP newsletter UPdate and regular sector news updates • Discounted registration at ANZUP’s annual scientific meeting • Access to educational resources, workshops and seminars • Access to grant opportunities • Voting rights at ANZUP annual general meeting and other general meetings
• Other benefits that will be extended from time to time for members only Please join the group and take advantage of the many opportunities for training and mentorship. Maybe you’ll be a future leader of genitourinary cancer research, and maybe you’ll make the current leaders less crusty. There is no membership fee and membership does not need to be renewed annually. Find out more http://anzup.org.au/members.aspx
Bladder Cancer Bladder Concept Development Workshop The Bladder concept development workshop was held in Sydney in August. Increasing numbers of new concepts and necessary discussion and development of current projects and planned grants led to highly productive, albeit exhausting day. Several new concepts ranging broadly from peri-operative exercise interventions to combination PD-1 CTLA 4 as adjuvant therapy in high risk MIBC and were presented. Existing concepts including targeting the androgen receptor in metastatic bladder cancer and ACCEPT were revisited and the brainstorming concerning next direction in several bladder cancer trial scenarios was invaluable. With increasing numbers of concepts coming up through the sub-committee difficult decisions concerning which studies are taken forward must be made. I am extremely grateful to the large number of busy clinicians and researchers who attended and made such a success of the day.
Trial Updates Currently Recruiting Trials and Projects The BCGMM trial accrual has recruited 83 patients and continues to recruit steadily. Completion of the stage 1 of the trial (130 patients) is within sight though it remains essential that open centres continue to recruit strongly and some of those still yet to open get over that line. Work is already underway preparing the application to fund round the stage 2 of the study. Many thanks to the continued efforts of all those involved with this important study. The BL-12 Trial (Nanoparticle albumin-bound (NAB)Paclitaxel vs. Paclitaxel as second line in metastatic urothelial cancer) is recruiting extremely strongly with 172 patients (28 Australian) recruited and is close to complete accrual. It is time for attention to turn to the next trial in the metastatic bladder cancer space and further collaboration with the Canadians is an appealing option.
we anticipate the first patients will be recruited very soon. Patient Reported Symptom Index in Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer This study, now formally co-badged with ANZUP involves developing NMIBC cancer specific Q.O.L tools. Ethical approvals are well progressed at multiple sites and the study is on track to develop these important tools with the potential for validation and utilization in future trials performed by ANZUP and its research partners. Advancing Cystectomy Care – an Enhanced recovery Pathway Trial (ACCEPT) / ANZUP multi-centre Cystectomy database This project aims to improve cystectomy outcomes across Australia and New Zealand. An ANZUP survey has been completed to inform the content of a peri-operative cystectomy enhanced recovery pathway and multiple sites across Australia have committed to contributing to this first ANZ multi-centre cystectomy outcomes audit. The data will be collated through ANZUP via a RedCap data collection tool. Ethical approval has been obtained from the first site with an ‘opt out’ consent process which should facilitate ease of accrual and completeness of data collection. The 15 sites that have already expressed interest, and hopefully more centres in the future should open throughout 2017. Once reliable data collection across multiple sites has been established a formal trials with randomised peri-operative interventions can be contemplated. RAIDER-B RAIDER-B an international multi-centre phase II study in muscle invasive bladder cancer examining adaptive radiotherapy techniques that has now opened in 9 UK sites. Funding in Australia is via Cancer Australia, and in New Zealand via the New Zealand Cancer Society. Currently 2 sites in Australia and New Zealand are open with 2 Australian patients recruited. DICKON HAYNE Chair, Bladder Cancer Subcommittee
PCR MIB Pembrolizumab with chemo-radiation in muscle invasive bladder cancer. This Merck supported Phase 1 study is now screening for patients at a number of sites and ANZUP UPdate | 15
Germ Cell Phase III RCT of Accelerated BEP (plus translational sub study) – open at 27 sites and 31 patients recruited. This randomised trial of chemotherapy with accelerated BEP versus standard BEP for patients with intermediate or poor-risk advanced germ cell tumours is supported by Cancer Council Australia and Cancer Australia, and is currently open at 27 ANZ sites. 31 patients have been recruited. We continue to work with collaborators from Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit and Children’s Oncology Group to open the study in the UK and USA. Version 3.0 of the protocol, which allows recruitment of paediatric patients aged 11 years and over, and female patients, has been approved at 22 ANZ sites. We are delighted to welcome two representatives from the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology/ Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) to the Trial Management Committee. Dr Rick Walker from Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, and Dr Mark Winstanley from Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, will contribute to trial oversight and promoting recruitment to their paediatric colleagues in Australia and New Zealand. The ANZ Gynaecologic Oncology group have also agreed to promote recruitment of females with FIGO stage IV ovarian germ cell tumours. If you have any questions in relation to this study, then please email p3bep@ctc.usyd.edu.au.
ANZUP Stage I Testicular Cancer Followup Recommendations Evidence-based recommendations for the follow-up of stage I testicular cancer are now available on the ANZUP website. They include a clinician guideline, patient handout, and excel calculator (which generates a personalised schedule). Developed by Andrew Weickhardt, Nicola Lawrence, Annie Yeung and Fritha Hanning, with the assistance of the ANZUP Germ Cell Subcommittee and Consumer Advisory Panel; they have been endorsed by the Medical Oncology Group of Australia (MOGA), Clinical Oncology Society of Australia 16 | ANZUP UPdate
(COSA), eviQ and promoted by the Oncology Network Newsletter < http://oncologynews.com.au/anzup-stage1-testicular-cancer-surveillance-recommendations/>. The Germ Cell Subcommittee are developing methods to further promote and evaluate the impact of the recommendations, which aim to reduce unnecessary variance and radiation exposure in this group of patients, and would welcome input from members.
Studies in development e-TC 2.0: a prospective study of an eHealth intervention for TC survivors led by Drs Ben Smith and Louise Heniger in collaboration with PoCoG, building on the successful e-TC study. The study team are making excellent progress, anticipate the updated website being finalised in early 2017, and a pilot study for patients with significant anxiety and/or depression being completed by quarter 3 of 2017. Special thanks to Jason Gray and Matt Leonard from the ANZUP Consumer Advisory Panel, who continue to provide very valuable feedback regarding website development and pilot study conduct. TIGER: Movember is generously supporting ANZUP’s participation in the TIGER study. This very important international randomised trial for refractory and relapsed germ cell tumours, of high-dose chemotherapy with TI-CE versus conventional dose chemotherapy with TIP, is led by Alliance. ANZUP continues to work with the CTC and Alliance to open the study at up to 7 ANZ sites in 2017.
International collaborations Translational Research Projects Dr Ben Tran, Deputy Chair of the ANZUP Germ Cell Subcommittee, is leading ANZUP’s involvement in two important translational research projects. The first is the GAP5 Translational Research Project, funded by Movember, which aims to identifying the biological drivers of relapse in this cohort of men. The study remains in development. The second is the GCT explorer, which is a platform and database to support large-scale international translational studies, led by the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium (MaGIC). It is hoped that ANZUP and its Australian collaborators will have the opportunity to participate in these projects.
Germ Cell IGCCCG 2.0 Prof Guy Toner, ANZUP Co-Chair, together with ANZUP fellow Dr Nicola Lawrence and ANZUP statistician Dr Andrew Martin are coordinating the provision of data to an EORTC-led international collaboration to update clinical prognostication in metastatic germ cell tumours, ‘IGCCCG 2.0’. Data from the ANZ Germ Cell Trials Group “Good prognosis” study and the ANZUP Phase II study of accelerated BEP are being provided.
Updates from studies in follow-up Chemotherapy and Cognition: An abstract was awarded “Best Consultant Poster” at the Medical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting, Gold Coast, August 2016. Prof Ian Olver is leading the preparation of manuscripts for this study which prospectively monitored cognitive function in patients managed with and without chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Phase II study of accelerated BEP for advanced germ cell tumours: Dr Nicky Lawrence presents long-term results as an oral abstract at the Medical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting, Gold Coast, August 2016. Results of a substudy evaluating the impact of routine pulmonary function tests on bleomycin dosing, led by former ANZUP fellow Dr Felicia Roncolato, has been published in Internal Medicine Journal (see adjacent article):
Research update: The effect of pulmonary function testing on bleomycin dosing in germ cell tumours
Author: Dr Felicia Roncolato The use of pulmonary function testing to detect bleomycin-induced lung toxicity is controversial. We described the impact of pulmonary function testing on bleomycin dosing in the ANZUP phase II trial of accelerated BEP for advanced germ cell tumours. Asymptomatic reductions in DLCO caused 20% of bleomycin doses to be omitted and 30% of patients to receive <two-thirds of their planned doses. We concluded that 25%reduction in DLCO appeared too cautious a threshold and given the potential negative impact of this practice on anti-cancer effect, the routine use of pulmonary function testing to monitor for bleomycin toxicity should be questioned.
Reference: Roncolato FT, Chatfield M, Houghton B, Toner G, Stockler M, Thomson D,Friedlander M,Gurney H, Rosenthal R, Grimison P, ANZUP Cancer Trials Group. The effect of pulmonary function testing on bleomycin dosing in germ cell tumours. Internal Medicine Journal 2016; 46(8) 893–898; DOI: 10.1111/imj.13158.
Call for new members The Germ Cell Sub-committee always welcomes new Germ Cell members including trainees who will contribute to research activity. Please encourage your interested colleagues and trainees to join the sub-committee. We are a multi-disciplinary group, and we encourage participation of members not only from medical oncology, but also from surgery, radiation oncology, nursing, psycho-oncology, and basic science. Again I thank the efforts of investigators, staff from ANZUP and the CTC, and patients for these achievements. PETER GRIMISON Chair, Germ Cell Subcommitte ANZUP UPdate | 17
Prostate The Prostate Subcommittee looks back on an exciting year and buoyed by the funding and research opportunities that lie ahead in 2017. It’s worth mentioning our exciting new partnership with PCFA which we hope to see continue for a long time to come. We are very grateful to the CEO Dr Antony Lowe and the PCFA Board for their ongoing support. Our first supported proposal is for a potentially high-impact study of 177LutetiumPSMA therapy for advanced prostate cancer. Work is well advanced on protocol development and we will be providing more details once some resource questions have been addressed. We held our second ANZUP GU Preceptorship in Prostate Cancer in Sydney on 26-27 August. With over 40 trainees and consultants in their first five years of practice, from Medical, Radiation Oncology and Urology backgrounds they were mentored by prostate cancer experts from all three subspecialties. Preceptors included A/Prof Jeremy Shapiro (Co-Convenor), Prof Ian Davis, Dr Amy Hayden, A/Prof Gavin Marx, A/Prof Declan Murphy, Dr Jarad Martin and A/Prof Henry Woo. Once again Eva Segelov did a superb job facilitating this excellent learning initiative with ANZUP. Our thanks also to Megan Crumbaker, assistant convener, for supporting Eva and the ANZUP team. The feedback from the workshop was extremely positive and so we are discussing expanding the preceptorship in to other disease in 2017. Thanks to Astellas, Ipsen, Janssen and Novartis for their invaluable sponsorship and support. Our large randomised studies involving Enzalutamide are progressing well. ENZAMET has recently recruited our 900th patient and anticipate reaching our goal of 1100 patients on or before the first quarter of 2017.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the study for making it a resounding success so far. ENZARAD accrual has also picked up and at the time of this report 349 patients have been recruited with our target of 800 patients expected in early 2018, with an expected boost once the major EORTC sites open the trial early next year. The Pain-Free TRUS-B study is now activated across six centres and 23 men have been randomised. The purpose of this trial is to determine whether the addition of inhaled methoxyflurane to local anaesthesia improves the pain, discomfort and experience of TRUS biopsy. Ways to build accrual is the main focus for this study in the near-term, and we encourage the ANZUP membership to comment on possible additional approaches to locating suitable participants. The national randomised trial of 68Gallium-PSMA PET scanning for initial staging of high risk prostate cancer (“proPSMA”) is close to opening at several sites around the country. Many ANZUP members have been involved in the study development, and we look forward to helping progress to a successful and highly influential outcome. More details will be provided soon. My thanks this year to everyone who has helped the subcommittee run smoothly, all the members who have contributed their time, effort. As always I invite all members to prod their colleagues with an interest in prostate cancer to join and contribute. I’d like to thank the ANZUP staff who helped facilitate our meetings, talks and communication. Finally a great thank you to my outstanding deputy Carmel Pezaro for her support, and I wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday season. SCOTT WILLIAMS Chair, Prostate Cancer Subcommittee
Season’s Greetings
18 | ANZUP UPdate
Renal Cell Activity remains intense behind the scenes for the Renal Subcommittee, with three clinical trials in various stages of development. KeyPAD is a phase II trial in TKI refractory metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma to test the combination of RANK and PD1 inhibition. We continue to work with both industry sponsors to finalise this project for early 2017. UNISoN is a sequential trial of nivolumab and then ipilimumab + nivoluamb in patients with untreated metastatic non-clear cell renal carcinoma. Final protocol and budget remain to be agreed with the sponsor. Finally the ANZUP / MRC RAMPART trial of adjuvant immunothreapy for high risk resected Renal Cell carcinoma is continuing to be developed. The recent concept development workshop was well attended and a robust discussion about future trials and the field in general took place. With the rash of immunotherapy trials currently underway in the first and second line settings, the challenge is to identify unmet needs and find opportunities for further development of existing drugs and sequencing with novel agents.
Have you seen the new ANZUP website? The ANZUP website is the hub for much of the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity. The latest updates include: - A new professional design, look and feel - Navigation options for members, patients, community and supporters - Mobile responsive and easy to navigate from smartphones. - Greater access to resources for members, subcommittees and trial groups. - Integrating our new content management software
VISIT THE ANZUP WEBSITE
We look forward to further constructive ideas at our next concept development workshop on March 15th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; please start thinking about these ideas and we look forward to seeing you in a 2017. CRAIG GEDYE Chair, Renal Cell Cancer Subcommittee
ANZUP UPdate | 19
Translational Research The Correlative and Translational Subcommittee has undergone one significant change since the last ANZUP newsletter: we have a new name! It is now called the Translational Research Subcommittee, which I think is a simpler title and certainly less of a mouthful. Of course, I would say good things about the name change because it was my idea! Needless to say, the name change was approved by the ANZUP board. With a new name comes lots of activity, in which I have been ably supported by my Deputy Chair Anthony Joshua and others especially Sonya Yip as well as Marg and her team: 1. In terms of existing trials, biospecimen collection is ongoing for several trials including P3BEP, BL12, ENZAMET, ENZARAD and BCG-MMC. We are actively involved in the development of translational research projects using these specimens (and the grant applications that will be needed to fund them!) 2. In terms of planned trials, we have been working closely with Craig Gedye from the RCC Subcommittee and Sonya Yip to develop translational sub-studies for several upcoming ANZUP-led clinical trials in kidney cancer.
3. We are also very keen to develop and support new translationally-focused clinical trials and research studies. There are great opportunities to pursue “boutique” translational studies e.g. neoadjuvant trials in localised prostate cancer looking at preand post-treatment tumour tissue. Lisa Horvath and myself are also in discussions with the Prostate Subcommittee about ANZUP co-badging a prostate circulating biomarker study that has recently opened at several sites in Victoria and NSW. If you have an idea for a translational study, please approach me! 4. Lastly, there will be an inaugural Translational Symposium at next year’s ANZUP ASM. Anthony, Ian Vela, Lisa Butler and myself are putting together what we hope will be an exciting agenda with an excellent line up of national and international speakers focusing on GU translational research. Stay tuned for updates. On a personal note, it has been a really enjoyable experience taking on the role of Chair of the Translational Research Subcommittee. I look forward to helping drive more activity in this capacity and sharing updates with you in the future. ARUN AZAD Chair, Translational Research Subcommittee
INTELLIGENT NEWS THESATURDAYPAPER.COM.AU
20 | ANZUP UPdate
Quality of Life and Supportive Care CRE Prostate Cancer Survivorship A national team of researchers were successful in obtaining NHMRC funding for a prostate cancer survivorship initiative. This work builds on an earlier collaboration between Griffith University, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Cancer Council QLD and Edith Cowan University. The centre will explore four main themes: psychosocial and psychosexual health, exercise medicine, the economic costs of prostate cancer and geographic inequalities in prostate cancer outcomes. The team of Chief and Associate investigators includes leading ANZUP members and the initiative will work closely in partnership with ANZUP and other key groups. CI: Professor Suzanne Chambers, Professor Rob Newton, Professor Paul Scuffham, Associate Professor Peter Baade, Professor Daniel Galvao, Professor Jeff Dunn AO, Associate Professor David Smith, Clinical Professor Nigel Spry, Professor Frank Gardiner AM. AI: Associate Professor Anthony Lowe, Dr. Louisa Gordon, Mr David Sandoe, Professor Mark Frydenberg, Professor Karen Grimmer, Ms Helen Crowe, Dr. Melissa Hyde, Professor Kevin Stein, Associate Professor Lisa Horvath.
Adherence to treatment The concept of adherence to treatment in GU cancer was discussed both at the QOL and Supportive Care Subcommittee strategic planning meeting and the ASM this year. There is clearly a gap in understanding how people manage both their anti-cancer and supportive care treatments, and how we might better support them to do this. As a result, we are initiating a systematic review to support planning for future research into this topic. A phd candidate to pick up this work would be ideal, so please send any interested individuals to us.
Exercise in ENZARAD A subgroup is working up a proposal for an exercise intervention to run at some sites participating in the ENZARAD trial. There is increasing evidence that exercise and maintaining physical activity can improve patient wellbeing, psychosocial, and functional outcomes. Here we are aiming to use exercise to support patients in the trial to complete the treatment, maintain physical function, and manage their level of fatigue. More to come to members soon. SUZANNE CHAMBERS Chair, Quality of Life and Supportive Care Subcommittee
For more information please contact Fiona Williams at fiona.williams@griffith.edu.au
MASH-PC New descriptive research is currently underway to identify modifiable barriers and facilitators of optimal sexual outcomes for men. For example, the Men and Sexual Health â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prostate Cancer (MASH-PC) Study, is an international longitudinal survey that seeks to better understand the impact of prostate cancer and its treatment on menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sexual concerns, sense of masculinity and overall quality of life. The study is currently recruiting men from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada. For more information about this study, please visit www.menandprostatecancer.org.
ANZUP UPdate | 21
Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP) It is with sadness that I open the last CAP UPdate message for the year with the news that Tony Sonneveld OAM passed away on 13th November. Tony was a valued and active member of our CAP from 2012. Tony was a great supporter of all ANZUP’s activities which included riding in the inaugural Below the Belt Pedalthon with his sons Mark and Michael. Although they were unable to ride this year, Tony’s sons still supported the event. Ray and I were also able to catch up with Tony, who despite being very unwell, still came out trackside to the Pedalthon to support the event. Tony has been a tireless advocate for patients and their families affected by prostate cancer and he leaves a wonderful legacy for his family and friends as to how much “living” you can do in your life. As CAP members who are a group of patients, survivors and carers the passing of one of our members reminds us that our participation with ANZUP as the ‘patient” voice is important and we look forward to our continued participation.
The CAP have not had a meeting since the ASM in July, but have one coming up soon, so it has been a relatively quiet time over the last few months. We continue to participate in the disease subcommittee meetings, trial management meetings and other adhoc requests as needed. There will be another Consumer Magazine published before the end of the year with a few more contributions from the CAP and as always please remember to forward this publication onto your patients, family and friends. The quality of the information and presentation of the magazine is very professional and is well worth promoting within your patient groups. So as 2016 draws to an end I thank the CAP for their support and contributions that they make to ANZUP and on behalf of the CAP wish everyone at ANZUP best wishes for the festive season and we look forward to another great year for ANZUP in 2017. BELINDA JAGO Chair, ANZUP Consumer Advisory Panel
Upcoming 2017 Events FEB 16-18
ASCO GU Symposium – http://gucasym.org/
FEB 24-27
USANZ ASM – http://www.usanz2017.com/
MAR 6-9 MAR 15
MAR 30 - APR 1 APR 5
TROG ASM – http://www.trog.com.au/Annual-Scientific-Meeting
RCC Concept Development Workshop
FROGG Workshop – http://www.frogg.com.au/ Prostate Concept Development Workshop
APR 21
Bladder Concept Development Workshop
MAY 10
Germ Cell Concept Development Workshop
22 | ANZUP UPdate
OTHER NEWS Hellos and Welcome New Translational Research Chair Dr Arun Azad is a medical oncologist and translational researcher with a special interest in genitourinary malignancies. His ongoing research centres on circulating biomarker analysis in advanced prostate cancer patients and the predictive utility of non-coding RNA for BET inhibition in prostate cancer. As a subcommittee chair Arun will also be joining the ANZUP Scientific Advisory Panel. We’d also like thank Paul DeSousa for his work leading the subcommittee and wish him well with his new found time to put into other commitments.
Christine Garforth Christine steps into the executive assistant role in the ANZUP team. Originally from Massachusetts in the USA, Christine has been a senior leader and director of a retail and wholesale FMCG business spanning 25 years. Christine has worked across business activities from developing a strategic vision, through full business restructurings to managing communication with key stakeholders.
Goodbye and thank you Andrew ‘AJ’ Tennant AJ Tennant will farewell ANZUP in December to move on to some new and exciting challenges. As Communications Manager, AJ has worked with the team over the last 18 months to deliver the new ANZUP website, communications with members as well as producing a number of filming projects. We wish AJ every success in future, however it’s not ‘goodbye’ just yet. In January, AJ will help the new Communications Manager to take the reins and work with the ANZUP team.
In Memoriam On Sunday November 13 Tony Sonneveld, ANZUP CAP member, lost his 13 year battle with prostate cancer. Tony joined ANZUP’s Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP) in 2012 and was a tireless advocate for promoting prostate cancer awareness, education and the importance of clinical trials research. Tony had a successful professional career becoming Managing Director of Metlab Mapel and then General Manager of Transfield Electrical. In 2010 Tony was awarded an OAM for his services to “non-destructive testing” of pipelines, power stations, oil refineries and aircraft. On Tony’s 60th birthday he received the news that he had metastatic prostate cancer. Not to be deterred he decided to channel his abundance of energy into working with PCFA in an effort to promote and fund research and eventually became the Chair of the NSW Board. Loving a challenge he also decided to work his way through his “bucket list” tackling the Kokoda track, climbing Kilimanjaro and of course getting a team together and riding in ANZUP’s Below the Belt Pedalthon. Tony told me earlier this year that he was determined he would make the Pedalthon and he did! Despite his disease clearly taking its toll he and Viv drove out to Eastern Creek where he was able to catch up with Simon Clarke, Carol Dollar and the Sydney Markets team, as well as all his friends at ANZUP. We thank and acknowledge Tony for his invaluable contribution to the CAP and more broadly ANZUP. He was an inspiration taking a tough situation and turning it around to help others. As he told the Australian Financial Review in 2013: “Burning the candle at both ends enables me to sleep well and not dwell on my disease,” From all of us at ANZUP our deepest sympathy to his wife Viv, and his children Michael, Mark and Rebecca (Bec) and of course those beautiful grandchildren of which he was so proud. He fought the good fight and did his very best, we are very grateful for having known him. MARG MCJANNETT ANZUP CEO
ANZUP UPdate | 23
OTHER NEWS
Quality of Life Office Update The Quality of Life (QOL) Office is funded by Cancer Australia to provide advice and support to members of ANZUP on assessing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in cancer clinical trials. The QOL Office has been working on a number of projects this year including: • A systematic review, collating practical strategies to minimise the problem of missing PRO data, from over 117 sources. The review, now published, highlights that potential issues with missing PRO data need to be considered at the trial design stage through to the reporting stage by all members of the trial team. The review paper is available open access online: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/6/e010938 • Literature reviews on the current evidence about minimally important differences (MIDs) across three different PRO measures. The findings from these reviews were used to update our
frequently asked questions (FAQ) webpage. For current evidence about MIDs for the HADS, QLQ-C30, or FACT-G and FACIT, and also for information about MIDs in general, please visit our resources webpage. • The ‘Checklist of instructions for the administration of Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) Measures’. Standardised PRO administration is key to achieving high quality PRO data and high compliance rates. Use the Checklist for newly activated studies, accessible via the QOL Office resources webpage: http://www.pocog.org.au/content. aspx?page=qolresources You can contact the QOLO Office for assistance with missing data concerns or any other aspect of PRO research: https://sydneypsy.qualtrics.com/ SE/?SID=SV_eV85Bh9eW84R0ln
Physical Activity During Cancer Treatment Study – What do you think? The Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidencebased Decision-making (CeMPED) at the University of Sydney and the Concord Cancer Centre and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse are conducting a research study to learn more about how Australian Cancer Health Professionals perceive exercise for patients during and after treatment for cancer. They are seeking
24 | ANZUP UPdate
the assistance of cancer health professionals to take part in the study as a short online questionnaire – https://sydneypsy.qualtrics.com/ SE/?SID=SV_01Dp4WfMajbPiwR Your involvement is entirely confidential and should take about 15 minutes of your time. If you have any questions regarding the aims and procedures of this study please contact Dr Haryana Dhillon, Chief Investigator, on 02 9036 5392 during business hours or by email at Haryana.dhillon@sydney.edu.au.
OTHER NEWS
TOLMAR ANZUP URO-ONCOLOGY CLINICAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2017 For the past 2 years ANZUP has partnered with Tolmar to support an early/midcareer clinician or researcher of any health care discipline. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fellow, Arun Azad, will be supported in his research into the delivery of personalised medicine for patients with advanced prostate cancer, using circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA).
Tolmar Australia and ANZUP Cancer Trials Group will once again partner to provide the Tolmar / ANZUP Uro-oncology Clinical Research Fellowship (CRF). The CRF will provide $60,000 for a period of one year to the institution of the successful applicant. Applications will open early in the new year. ANZUP is grateful to Tolmar for their ongoing and generous support of the Clinical Research Fellowship.
ASTELLAS YOUNG INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2017 The Astellas Young Investigator of the Year Award recognise an outstanding early career researcher in prostate cancer clinical trials research with up to $10,000 to support his/her attendance to an international GU meeting and ANZUP ASM. Our 2016 winner Carmel Pezaro is a medical oncologist and clinical researcher with a substantial record in translational research.
In 2017 we are proud to announce that the Astellas Young Investigator Award will be expanded to a number of new categories. We will update you early in the new year and look forward to seeing applications follow. ANZUP thanks Astellas for this new exciting partnership and their support of the Award.
ANZUP UPdate | 25
OTHER NEWS Below the Belt Research Fund Projects ANZUP launched the Below the Belt Research last year and awarded $150k of funding to three successful projects in early 2016. Here is their progress: 1. e -TC 2.0: Further development of an online psychological intervention for testicular cancer survivors Dr Ben Smith reports 7 sites have agreed to assist with recruitment. They have applied for ethics approval, and changes to make the website more tailored for testicular cancer survivors will be completed by the end of the year. They are happy to have additional consumer representation on the e-TC 2.0 Expert Advisory Group, with Matthew Leonard joining recently. They plan to launch the website and begin recruitment in early 2017. 2. D efining primary resistance to chemohormonal treatment with docetaxel in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer: a preliminary biomarker cohort study Circulating tumour cell assays have been collected and analysed from men commencing chemohormonal therapy. Whole blood and plasma have been collected and stored, for batch-analysis of whole blood RNA and lipidomic/ cytokine levels during the second year of the project. Additional patients will also be recruited during the next year, in order to complete the project. Carmel Pezaro looks forward to presenting the results of this research and learning how we might identify patients who should receive more intensive treatments. 3. C irculating immune cell changes in patients treated with pembrolizumab and chemoradiation for bladder cancer Andrew Weickhardt reports his study is progressing well. They are in the process of collecting blood from patients having treatment, storing the blood, and next year will begin the process of comparing changes in immune relevant genes and cytokines between the two groups of patients to assess the impact of immunotherapy.
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Grant Review process ANZUPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to conduct clinical trials research to improve treatment of bladder, kidney, prostate and testicular cancers. ANZUP is multidisciplinary and aims to assess a broad range of treatment interventions and management strategies to improve outcomes. Each year ANZUP calls for application to support our members in the development of investigator initiatedstudies. We undertake a rigorous process aimed at ensuring applications with the greatest likelihood of positively impacting the health and well-being of patients with urogenital cancers are chosen. Consumer representation is vital to ensuring the research proposed is relevant to community needs. Scientific quality
Our approach:
Relevance Budget justification
Call for 1 applications
Multidisciplinary team 2 assessment
Successful applicants 3 notified
Project development 4 team established
Start up and 5 implementation
Aligns to ANZUP mission Potential lead to ANZUP trial
6-8 weeks
3-4 weeks
3 weeks
6-8 weeks
6-12 months
Ensuring the findings from our research is key to ongoing improvements in urogenital cancer care. It is a condition of ANZUP supported research that findings are presented at our annual meetings, as well as meetings relevant to the area of research. Increasingly our researchers are being invited to present at international meetings, a reflection of the quality of our research.
OUR THANKS Thank you to our 2016 Corporate Partners and Supporters We are very grateful for the infrastructure support we receive from Cancer Australia however the funds are not sufficient to support ANZUPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increasing research activities. In 2016 many of our events, grants and activities required significant help. Fortunately our Corporate Supporter program has continued to grow. For an extraordinary year of partnerships we thank Air New Zealand, Adshel, Active Display Group, The Saturday Paper and Mumbrella as well as our fantastic corporate supporters:
16-18 JULY 2017 PULLMAN ALBERT PARK MELBOURNE EARLYBIRD REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 9 MAY ABSTRACTS & CONCEPTS CLOSE 3 APRIL
ANZUP Annual Scientific Meeting
The Art & Science of Best Practice Program highlights will include: • State of the art presentations from leading international and Australian experts; • Up-to-date management and research for prostate and other genitourinary cancers; • PCFA ANZUP Nurses Symposium; • Inaugural Translational Research Symposium; • Clinical trial Concept Development Workshop; • Overviews of current and planned ANZUP trials; • ANZUP MDT Masterclass where delegates have the opportunity to have questions answered by expert panels; • Community Engagement Forum: A little below the belt; • Travel Fellowships available for ANZUP members!
#ANZUP17
We have an outstanding international faculty including: Silke Gillessen Medical Oncologist at Kantonsspital, St Gallen Switzerland and Chair of the EORTC GU Group Robert Lee Radiation Oncologist at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA Alex Kutikov Associate Professor of Urologic Surgical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, USA Bente Thoft Jensen Senior Reseacher, Department of Urology, Aarhus University, Denmark Peter Black Urologist and Senior Reseach Scientist, Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver BC, Canada
Please check our ANZUP website for updates www.anzup.org.au