Cancer Research

Cancer remains a significant cause of illness and mortality in Australia, affecting thousands of lives each year. With over 151,000 Australians diagnosed with cancer in 2021, ongoing research has helped raise survival rates from 49% in the 1980s to 69% today. However, cancer still claims thousands of lives each year in Western Australia, underscoring the critical need for more research to improve outcomes.

At RPH Research Foundation we fund cancer projects happening at Royal Perth Hospital that aim to enhance patient care. This includes the Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) Haematology Department, which provides a specialist tertiary service that specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of blood, bone marrow, lymphatic diseases and disorders of blood clotting.

The haematology service at RPH provides a comprehensive range of treatment options including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, autologous stem cell transplant, cellular therapy and a wide range of clinical trials. As one of the largest Haematology centres in Western Australia, the Haematology Clinical Trials Department at Royal Perth Hospital offers a comprehensive range of clinical trials to patients with blood disorders at our established, world-class facility.

The Foundation also funds research happening at the Cell and Tissue Therapy Western Australia (CTTWA) facility at RPH, which is a clinical service facility and an advanced therapies manufacturing centre of excellence. The Facility was originally built thanks to an extraordinary gift from Ray Dobney in memory of his brother Bill and has helped thousands of Australian patients.

Thanks to the generous gift left by the late Verena Vonesch in her Will, RPH Research Foundation is also funding two large cancer research projects that aim to improve cancer therapy and rehabilitation in WA. This gift in memory of Felix Viktor and Verena Vonesch will be used for CAR T-Cell therapy and a novel project for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation.