UQ opens new cancer research facility

The University of Queensland has opened a new facility that will allow researchers to examine the effects of tiny drug doses in human and animal cancers

The new Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Facility for Molecular Imaging Agents in Cancer claims to run Australia’s first comparative oncology research program, studying naturally occurring cancers in companion animals such as dogs to learn more about treating cancer in humans.

“We are using molecular imaging to improve cancer detection, characterisation, treatment and monitoring,” said UQ Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI) Director Professor David Reutens. The new facility will enhance the success of clinical trials on human cancer therapies and help develop new drugs, devices and imaging procedures for human patients.

“The facility will build on the long-term development of world-class facilities in health and medical bioscience and research in Queensland, linking with other imaging capabilities such as the Herston Imaging Research Facility and the Translational Research Institute’s Innovation and Translation Centre.”

A $2.5 million Australian Cancer Research Foundation grant has enabled the purchase of a large-bore PET-CT scanner and an upgrade of the CAI’s magnetic resonance imaging facilities.

ACRF CEO Professor Ian Brown said the facility offered a new opportunity to better understand cancer in its many forms.

“It provides a chance for the development of new approaches for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer,” he said.