A re-elected NSW Liberals and Nationals Government will shine a spotlight on deadly cancers affecting women by providing $7 million in research grants for ovarian and other gynaecological cancers.
This will include the provision of a $5 million Translational Research Grant and four $500,000 fellowships to support research and pave the way for future improvements to treatments.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said this will help shine a spotlight on two of the most deadly cancers affecting women.
“We want to give women affected by these terrible diseases, which often have very poor prognoses, the best chance of survival,” Mr Perrottet said.
“These grants are important in enabling the very best researchers to continue their work to help improve survival rates for these awful cancers.
“The better we can understand these deadly diseases, the better we can tailor treatments for women and improve their chances of being able to overcome them.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said gynaecological cancers vary in prevalence and can have very poor prognoses.
“For ovarian cancer specifically, just over half (51 per cent) of women diagnosed will not survive five years. This is a tragic statistic we need to turn around and by investing in research we can try to achieve this,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Translational research helps us understand how innovations may work in the real world and on a large scale and aims to quickly bring these new ideas from benchtop to bedside and improve outcomes for patients.”
Minister for Women and Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said the $7 million in additional funding will bring new hope for women suffering from cancers of the female reproductive system.
“Fellowships fund researchers to continue their important work at an early-middle stage of their career, ensuring we maintain a pipeline of world-class researchers right here in NSW,” Mrs Taylor said.
“By investing in early-mid career researchers with a focus on gynaecological cancers, we aim to accelerate the journey toward potential new treatments and interventions for these deadly women’s cancers.”
Gynaecological cancers include ovarian cancer, uterine or endometrial cancer, cancer of the fallopian tubes, primary peritoneal cancer, cervical cancer and vaginal cancer.