Cancer Research
Western Health Cancer Services has been involved in research to discover improved or new treatments for most cancer types for over 20 years. Our unit is a member of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and Cancer Trials Australia. We also have strong collaborative working relationships with Walter and Eliza Hall Institute as well as most major cooperative cancer trial groups. All cancer research conducted at Western Health follows the framework of ethical conduct of research in Australia. More information is available on the National Health and Medical Research Council website.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that test new medical treatments that are not yet available to the general public. They are used to gather more information about how effective a treatment is. Studies may look at how people respond to a new intervention and what side-effects might occur or what is the best dose to give for a new drug. This helps to determine if a new treatment works, if it is safe, and if it is better than the treatments that are already available. Other trials might compare existing interventions or test new ways to use existing treatments.
Clinical trials are very important to develop and test new or improved cancer treatments. They allow for testing which cannot be done in a laboratory. They also allow for new treatments to be tested on a large group of people.
More information about clinical trials is available on the Cancer Council Victoria website
For specific clinical trials conducted at Western Health or in Australia, search:
Western Health is a member of Cancer Trials Australia.
Western Health is also a member of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) alliance.
For more information about Cancer Services Clinical Trials at Western Health, please contact
Heike Raunow, Clinical Research Manager, phone 0434 915 739 or email [email protected].
If you have been recommended for a clinical trial, please see here for more information and resources.