Director of Oncology Professor Michael Green was given a $250,000 grant to conduct medical trials. 79651 Picture: CONTRIBUTED
By CHARLENE GATT
A WESTERN Health director has received a $250,000 State Government grant to allow clinical trials for cancer treatment.
Director of Oncology Professor Michael Green was awarded the sum to increase Western Health’s participation in clinical trials.
Prof Green will expand Western Health’s existing research programs and promote developing tumour streams.
“The aim of the grant is to provide funds to develop an infrastructure so that clinical trials can be further developed at Western Health and in the western region,” he said.
“To this end, we are focusing on two tumour streams, one is colorectal and the other is a new stream of haemotology. The aim is to increase the number of patients recruited to clinical trials – often clinical trials with a high degree of sophistication – which will be done here at Western Health.
“The purpose of doing these clinical trials is obviously to offer patients newer medications, the best types of treatment according to international standards but also to provide a high degree of quality for our cancer treatments.
“Cancer treatments are developed by investigating new medications and new strategies in clinical trials, and those of us who participate in clinical trials feel that we are offering patients the latest developments in the care of their disease.”
Professor Green was appointed a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne in 2010, and has since taken groups of medical students and doctors on ward rounds to observe interaction between patients.
He was appointed to Western Health in 1990 as the first director of Oncology and Haematology and Palliative Care and has contributed significantly to laboratory research and clinical trials in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.
