Expanded funding powers next-gen precision oncology

The Australian Government’s $112.6 million investment into the Zero Childhood Cancer (ZERO) program marks a defining moment in precision medicine for young cancer patients. This expansion will ensure cutting-edge, personalised treatment reaches more children and, for the first time, young adults up to the age of 25 with paediatric-type cancers.

Led by Children’s Cancer Institute and the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, in collaboration with every children’s hospital across Australia, ZERO is at the forefront of transforming cancer care. The program combines genomic analysis with a targeted treatment approach, giving children and young people access to therapies tailored to their unique cancer profile.

Professor Michelle Haber AM, Executive Director of Children’s Cancer Institute, highlighted the urgent need for innovation in childhood cancer treatment.

“The impact of childhood cancer is far greater than most people realise,” she said. “In Australia, we have more than a thousand cases diagnosed every year, and globally, this number is estimated to be well over 400,000. These children endure gruelling treatment with life-long physical, emotional and psychological consequences. For them and their families, life is never the same again.”

ZERO’s approach is reshaping how childhood cancers are understood and treated. Upon enrolment, a child’s cancer and normal tissue samples are sent to leading research facilities, where scientists conduct in-depth genomic analysis. This enables doctors to pinpoint treatments with the highest likelihood of success.

Once the analysis is complete, a multidisciplinary team reviews the findings, and the treating doctor receives a report detailing the tumour’s critical genetic features. For children with high-risk or complex cancers, ZERO goes even further—testing potential treatments in lab models to assess their effectiveness before clinical use.

Professor Haber reinforced ZERO’s global impact, adding “Nowhere else in the world do children with cancer have the opportunity of benefiting from a precision program of this depth and impact. ZERO is showing just what’s possible when you combine cutting-edge research and technology with a multidisciplinary team approach to drive clinical care.”

This funding secures the future of ZERO for all children with cancer in Australia while also extending its reach to an additional 300 young people each year—totalling around 1,300 children and young adults annually who will have access to this life-changing platform.

Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler MP, emphasised the program’s significance in transforming cancer outcomes.

“The ZERO Childhood Cancer program has already supported more than 2,000 Australian children with cancer, and thanks to this investment, the team will be able to expand that support to another 300 young Australians each year.

“The precision medicine that these world-leading programs make possible is a real game-changer in cancer care – particularly for children and adults with rare or otherwise incurable cancers.”

Professor David Ziegler, Senior Specialist at the Kids Cancer Centre and Chair of the ZERO2 Clinical Trial, reinforced the shift ZERO is driving in paediatric oncology.

“ZERO’s results clearly demonstrate the power of precision medicine to change clinical outcomes. ZERO’s targeted, personalised approach represents a whole new model of care that has the potential to not only improve survival but also reduce damaging side effects in kids and therefore cut down on the time they need to spend in hospital. Ultimately this will be less disruptive for their families and achieve better results at a lower cost to the healthcare system,” he stated.

For families like the Dawsons, ZERO has already been life-saving. Carys Dawson was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at six years old. Although she initially responded well to treatment, she relapsed two years later. When ZERO analysed her cancer at the time of relapse, it revealed she had a rare subtype – Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – requiring a different treatment strategy. That insight changed everything. Today, Carys is back at school, having just started Year 6.

Her mother, Laura Dawson, reflected on how ZERO altered her daughter’s trajectory.

“Without the Zero Childhood Cancer Program, my daughter would have continued the pattern of ‘recovery’ and relapse with tragic results. She was being treated for the most common type of leukaemia, and responding well, but it turned out she had a very rare sub-type and needed a different treatment approach. Everyone was shocked by the genomic test result, and it saved her life,” she reflected.

With its continued expansion, ZERO is redefining what’s possible for children and young people facing cancer.

“Our goal is to create a future where precision medicine is embedded in our health system as the new model of care for all children and young people with cancer in Australia,” said Associate Professor Vanessa Tyrrell, Zero Childhood Cancer Program Director. “With funding now secured, we can integrate emerging research to continuously improve the ZERO platform, while also planning how to embed ZERO as a permanent solution for all children and young people impacted by cancer in the future.”

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.