Our Affiliated Groups
Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG)
TROG Cancer Research is Australia and New Zealand's specialist clinical research group for cancers that can be treated with radiotherapy. TROG is a cooperative multi-disciplinary organisation dedicated to the control of a wide range of cancers through quality multi-centre research. TROG provides the infrastructure and governance for national and international collaborations to help ensure the development of more effective treatments for cancer. Currently over 300 clinicians and other researchers and over 8000 patients have contributed to the TROG research program. The Department of Radiation Oncology at Calvary Mater Newcastle was instrumental in the setup of TROG and is the second largest contributor to clinical trial recruitment in Australia and New Zealand. The Central Operations Office of TROG is located within Calvary Mater Newcastle.
Prostate Cancer Trials Group
The Prostate Cancer Trials Group (PCTG) is lead by Professor Jim Denham and is running two large scale research trials on prostate cancer funded through NHMRC grants. Professor Jim Denham is the Chief Principal Investigator for both trials. The trials have recruited 818 and 1071 men respectively between 1996 and 2007 from 25 cancer treatment centres across Australia and New Zealand, including the Hunter and Hastings Valley.
96.01 trial - in the 1990's approximately 1/3 of men with locally advanced prostate cancer would experience relapse of their cancers within 5 years of treatment by radiation alone. By 2005 the 96.01 trial had shown that 6 months of hormone treatment given before and during radiation had cut cancerous relapses by 60% and deaths by 50%. Further results have been published in 2008, 2010 and 2011. As a result of this research 6 months of hormones and radiation are now the standard care in Australia and New Zealand and many cancer treatment centres in Europe and the United States.
RADAR trial - this trial commenced in 2004 with the goal of finding out whether an additional year of hormone therapy with or without 18 months of a bisphosphonate (a drug that could stop cancer developing in bone), would improve on the outcomes achieved by 6 months of hormones and radiation. Results are expected in 2012.