2024 Accelerated Research Implementation Grant
The Accelerated Research Implementation Grant supports evidence-based projects focused on benefitting at least one community identified as a ‘focus population’ in the NSW Cancer Plan, which have the potential to be embedded and scaled up in the health system.
The 2024 grants target cancer outcomes in rural and regional NSW, through increasing access to prehabilitation services to improve outcomes following cancer surgery, and reducing the impact of anal cancer in people living with HIV.
2024 Grant recipients
Grantee: Dr Jennifer Mackney
Administering Institution: University of Newcastle
Grant Title:Improving equity of access to prehabilitation services in regional and rural NSW: Supported PRehabilitation – Improving fiTness, Ensuring well-being before Surgery in people living with cancer (C-SPRITES).
Funding (excl.GST): $798,790
Surgery is essential in cancer care. In Australia in 2024, it is estimated that approximately 165 000 people will be diagnosed with cancer. Around 132 000 of these people will need surgery, often multiple times. Greater physical fitness and wellbeing is associated with better cancer surgery outcomes. However, the impact of cancer and associated treatments reduce physical activity, nutrition, and fitness resulting in an increased risk of poor cancer outcomes.
Prehabilitation is a multimodal intervention delivered before cancer surgery and includes exercise, nutritional optimisation, and psychological support. Exercise and good nutrition have been demonstrated to improve cancer survival and quality of life. Multimodal prehabilitation before cancer surgery improves physical function, halves postoperative complications, and reduces postoperative hospital length of stay by more than 2 days. Access to formal multimodal prehabilitation programs in Australia is poor, and people with cancer in regional and rural NSW experience an even greater disadvantage in access.
A model of care for the delivery of multimodal prehabilitation using a hybrid, scalable in-person and telehealth intervention for cancer patients, has been developed by our team and utilised clinically within the health district. The central aim of this application is to extend this work to improve access to multimodal prehabilitation services for cancer patients in regional and rural areas of NSW. We will achieve our aim by implementing the hybrid model of care, delivered by health providers within the participant communities (in-person components) and the Newcastle-based team (telehealth components), in 5 regional and rural hospitals.
Grantee: Associate Professor Vincent Cornelisse
Administering Institution: University of New South Wales
Grant Title: Reducing the incidence and increasing survival of anal cancer in People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) from regional and rural NSW.
Funding (excl.GST): $796,000
Although generally regarded as a rare cancer, rates of anal cancer in specific populations (such as PLWHIV) approach those of breast and prostate in the wider community, with an incidence of approximately 100 cases/100,000 per year. Anal cancer shares many similarities with cervical cancer, occurring as a result of infection with certain high-risk types of Human Papillomavirus (hrHPV). The persistence of such infections over decades leads to the development of anal cancer at an average age of 50 years in PLWHIV. Anal cancers are usually diagnosed at a late stage of disease, when people have symptoms. Diagnosis at this stage has a 5-year survival rate of 70%, even with aggressive treatment. Those surviving treatment have life-long side effects from radiation damage to the pelvis.
In a manner very similar to cervical cancer prevention, early identification of anal hrHPV infection, and treatment of pre-cancer lesions (High grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions - HSIL), has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of anal cancer development. Such anal cancer prevention services are not currently available in regional and rural NSW.
This project therefore aims to design, implement and evaluate locally-based anal cancer prevention services for PLWHIV living in regional and rural NSW and to inform the roll-out of such services elsewhere within NSW.
