One of WA’s biggest ever philanthropic gifts will transform childhood cancer research and treatment by improving outcomes for children with cancer and discovering more effective and less toxic treatments.
The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation will contribute $135.5 million over the next decade to the multi-partner collaboration, which will build on the significant work already being undertaken by Perth Children’s Hospital and The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation (PCHF) will also make a multi-million dollar contribution over the next five years with an option to extend and The University of Western Australia will add up to $9 million to help improve the lives of kids impacted by cancer in WA and across the globe.
The financial commitment from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, one of WA’s oldest charities, is an incredible contribution to the State and a fitting legacy to its founder, businessman Stan Perron, who died in 2018.
Child and Adolescent Health Service Chief Executive, Valerie Jovanovic said investing in childhood cancer research and care was important with 1240 Australian children diagnosed with cancer each year.
“Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for Australian children,” Ms Jovanovic said.
“We have a great opportunity to do more in this space and give our children and young people access to world-leading care and research.
“This field is moving extremely rapidly with precision medicine, genomics and other science advances. The donation will not only benefit Western Australian children – it will allow our Perth Children’s Hospital clinicians and The Kids researchers to contribute to these advances and lead the field in their areas of expertise.”
Chair of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, Elizabeth Perron said the intent and objectives of the Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre aligned perfectly with the intent of the Foundation established by her father.
“The Foundation’s guiding principles for giving expressly target any activity that improves the health and wellbeing of children in Western Australia,” Ms Perron said.
“While the funding is significant, like all projects funded by the Foundation, we are concerned less by the amount of money donated but primarily by the impact of the activity on the lives of children.”
Cutting-edge laboratory and clinical research have been shown to improve short, medium and long-term patient outcomes through seamless operational and cultural integration between researchers and clinicians.
Importantly, it can immediately translate into improved treatment, survival and whole-of-life outcomes for patients.
While this is already happening at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) and The Kids, the initiative will give the work a longer-term future, underpinned by sustained funding instead of short-term, project-based grants. It will also mean no Western Australian child will miss out on the best treatment available.
Professor Nick Gottardo, head of the Oncology and Haematology Department at PCH, said in the past 70 years only 50 new drugs had been approved to treat paediatric cancers, whereas for adults 60 cancer drugs were approved every year.
“Current treatments for kids cancer cause severe and often life-long side effects including problems with emotions, reproduction, growth, development, hormones, learning, memory problems, heart, lung, digestive system, hearing, vision and most strikingly, can cause secondary cancers,” Professor Gottardo said.
“This amazing donation will give us the chance to build on the world-leading research we are already undertaking and ensure kids in WA can be treated right here in WA.
“It will mean that kids with cancer will have access to the best treatment options without needing to leave the State and kids diagnosed with cancer in the future will benefit from transformative discovery research.
“It will advance our pre-clinical discovery pipeline to significantly improve outcomes for kids yet to be diagnosed with cancer, to discover more effective and less toxic treatments that will be adopted worldwide and to improve the lives of kids impacted by cancer globally.
Our vision is for all kids with cancer to survive and thrive.
The Kids Executive Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis said the initiative was a research model exemplar where researchers, clinicians and families with lived experience had charted a course for what would be needed in kids’ cancer research and treatment in the next decade.
“This is research reimagined. Nothing about this work is business as usual. It has been borne out of genuine partnerships with kids and families at the heart of the plan.
“This funding is a game-changer for childhood cancer research and treatment in WA.
“It will bring together ‘Team WA’ - an interdisciplinary team of clinicians and researchers; it will also attract and retain the brightest minds in this field from around the world and facilitate the purchase of the most advanced equipment needed to ensure game-changing research breakthroughs,” Professor Carapetis said.
By 2035 it is the goal for:
- Every child with cancer to have access to the world’s best cancer treatments in WA, including treatments ‘home-grown’ in our local laboratories.
- Aboriginal kids with cancer to receive tailored treatment with a culturally sensitive approach to care.
- All kids with cancer to have access to novel, effective treatments with reduced life-long side effects, resulting in improved outcomes and the best chance of a life free from long-term physical and psychological complications.
- To be recognised as world-leading, with collaborative networks across the country and the world.
Key local partners also include the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Linear Clinical Research and the Cancer Council of Western Australia.