The Zero Childhood Cancer Collaboration Network – a network of researchers, doctors and patients – today received $20m from the Turnbull Government to help improve health outcomes for children with cancer.
The Network will bring together six hospital and seven research centres across Australia to improve the way experts work together to lead to quicker diagnoses, speedier treatments decisions and improved health outcomes.
The Turnbull Government is investing $20m in infrastructure and equipment for the new network. It was an election commitment of the Turnbull Government and demonstrates the Coalition’s commitment to effective cancer control and improving outcomes for people with cancer.
This initiative is about working together, fighting together to improve the survival and quality of life for our children who currently have no cure for their cancer.
It’s about new hope. And just because there isn’t yet a cure, it should not mean we give up the fight.
The national network will connect research centres in all major cities ensuring children across the country are supported. Bringing researchers, doctors and cancer patients together will help deliver real-time discovery of the best individualised treatment for each cancer.
The network will be used to map cancer types, and treatment responses and results. Data collected will speed diagnosis and treatments. The ultimate goal is to have enough data to eradicate all childhood cancer deaths.
The Zero Childhood Cancer Collaboration Network will involve working over the next two years with 200 children across Australia with high risk or relapsed cancer, then moving to a national rollout available to all children with high risk cancer in all children’s hospitals.
The network will operate in a hub and spoke model, with the Children’s Cancer Institute at the centre. The centres are Children’s Cancer Institute, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Kid’s Research Institute, Centre for Childhood Cancer Research, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute.
One out of every six dollars spent on the Pharmaceutical Benefits is for cancer medicines - nearly $1.6 billion.
Since 2000 the Australian Government has invested more than $2 billion on cancer research.
The aim of the Zero Childhood initiative is for every child with cancer – up to 1000 a year – to access the Network’s cutting-edge technology and collaboration by 2020 to push survival rates for childhood cancer towards 100 per cent.