$9 MILLION FOR RESEARCH INTO CANCER IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

The Morrison Government is providing $9 million to support research into the causes, biology and progression of cancer among children and young adults.

 

Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease among Australian children. In the decade to 2015, nearly 1000 Australian children under the age of 15 died from cancer.

 

Delays in diagnosing childhood cancers can limit treatment options, and for some cancers, there are currently no effective treatments.

 

Tragically, survival rates for some cancers among children have not improved in more than 25 years, and new analysis of records held by the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry shows the rates of several childhood cancers are slowly rising.

 

This $9 million investment from the Government’s ground-breaking Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) will provide grant opportunities for Australia’s world-leading researchers to accelerate options to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in children and adolescents.

 

The Grant Opportunity will fund projects in two streams of research:

 

·       Cancers that occur in children aged 0-14 years.

·       Cancers that occur in adolescents aged 10-19 years.

 

Funding of $3 million will be allocated to each of the two streams. The remaining $3 million will be earmarked to support the overall best research, irrespective of streams.

 

Consultation with The Kids’ Cancer Project and Cancer Australia, has informed the scope and priorities of the 2020 Childhood Cancer Research Grant Opportunity. 

 

The Government’s MRFF is a $20 billion endowment fund. The MRFF is a long-term investment supporting Australia’s best and brightest researchers. Further information about the MRFF is available at www.health.gov.au/mrff.

 

Guidelines to apply for grants under the 2020 Childhood Cancer Research Grant Opportunity are available at https://www.grants.gov.au/