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| Dr Edmond Kwan |
Monash University PhD candidate Dr Edmond Kwan is the
recipient of the prestigious Conquer
Cancer Foundation Merit Award in recognition of his research into prostate cancer.
A Monash
Health medical oncologist, Dr Kwan is a PhD candidate in the School of Clinical
Sciences at Monash Health (SCS).
“My
PhD research explores the role of androgen receptor variants (AR-Vs) as a
predictive and prognostic biomarker in advanced prostate cancer,” Dr Kwan said.
“AR-Vs are abnormal proteins that can be present in
prostate cancer, and in recent years, have become detectable in blood tests
that analyse circulating tumour cells.”
“These proteins are thought by many to represent one of
the primary mechanisms by which advanced prostate cancer can develop resistance
to newer drug therapies, such as abiraterone and enzalutamide,” Dr Kwan said.
“Some studies even suggest that patients with AR-Vs do
not benefit from these therapies.”
Dr Kwan’s research group— the Prostate Cancer
Therapeutics Laboratory—designed a blood test to accurately detect AR-Vs. This test can be performed more routinely than
tests involving circulating tumour cells.
“We found that a significant proportion of these patients
with detectable AR-Vs in their blood still benefit from these effective
therapies, and therefore we would recommend against clinicians using AR-Vs as a
method of choosing ideal treatments for their patients,” Dr Kwan said.
Dr Kwan presented his research at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium last week in San
Francisco. The findings were also
published in the high impact journal European Urology
this week (read more HERE).
Dr Kwan said it is an absolute honour to be a recipient
of a Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Award.
“As an early career Oncologist embarking on the PhD
pathway, I have a strong commitment to translational research that bridges the
divide between basic science research and real-world benefits for patients I
see in the clinic,” he said.
“It is extremely encouraging to receive such a
highly-sought after award so early in my academic career, and no doubt this will
go a long way in assisting my goal of securing an overseas fellowship position
post-PhD to further strengthen my independent research skills.”
Dr Kwan acknowledges his PhD supervisors Associate Professor
Arun Azad, Dr Sarah To and Professor Eva Segelov, and the rest of the Prostate
Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory for all their assistance and hard work on the project.
“This award would not have been possible without their unwavering
support,” Dr Kwan said.
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