Personnel
Research
We are a research group of eight staff and students working on translational and
clinical projects concerned with the clinical pharmacology and development of anticancer
drugs. Our group mission is to reduce suffering and mortality from cancer by generating
pharmacological knowledge about new and existing anticancer drugs for ultimate use
in their clinical applications.
Projects
Current research projects are exploring novel DMXAA-based drug combinations, chemotherapy-induced
peripheral neuropathy and novel anticancer drugs in phase I trials.
DMXAA (5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid, AS1404, ASA404) is a tumour vascular
disrupting agent that was discovered and
developed at the
Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre. Our group has had a leading role in multi-centre phase I and II
trials of DMXAA. These trials recently culminated in the licensing of DMXAA to Novartis
Pharmaceuticals and the development of a registration strategy for the drug. A phase
III trial now plans to recruit 1200 patients over an 18 month period to study DMXAA
(1800 mg/m2) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel as first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Our group was the
first global centre to open and recruit patients to this trial, in April 2008.
Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common and often neglected side-effect
of many anticancer drugs. The mechanisms of anticancer drug neurotoxicity are poorly
understood and no effective clinical intervention is currently available for its
prevention or symptomatic management. An aim of our current research is the identification
of drug transporters expressed by peripheral neurons that become damaged by anticancer
drugs. Recently, we demonstrated strong neuronal expression of copper transporters
and organic cation transporters in the dorsal root ganglia of rats and now are attempting
to understand their roles in the neurotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs and potential
as therapeutic targets or biomarkers.
We have established a group of clinical research staff, facilities and a dedicated
clinic to support phase I oncology trials and the strategy of adding value to novel
anticancer technologies discovered at the University of Auckland or elsewhere. Currently
we have ongoing phase I trials of several novel anticancer drugs, including: PR104,
a hypoxia-activated nitrogen mustard; AS1409, a fusion protein of IL-12 and EDB-fibronectin
monoclonal antibody, and; ASA404, a flavonoid tumour vascular disrupting agent.
Teaching
Our group contributes to research-led teaching at the School of Medical Sciences
via a postgraduate paper (MEDSCI 723 - Cancer Pharmacology) and supervision of research
students. Eighteen students have completed higher research degrees in our group
since 1996.
MEDSCI 723 - Cancer Pharmacology
Collaborations and funding
Our students, research laboratories and non-clinical staff are based in the Department
of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology. Our clinical team is based in the Discipline
of Oncology and its work involves patients, facilities and staff at the Department
of
Oncology at Auckland City Hospital. We have close links with the ported by commercial collaborations with
Antisoma, Proacta and Novartis, and by grant funding from the Cancer Society of
New Zealand.
