UNIMELB_HOANG-Therese_VYT-LOCAL-2025.mp4

<p dir="ltr">VYT 2025 submission by Therese Hoang<br><br>Video transcript: <br>Each year, over 1,800 women in Australia are diagnosed with ovarian cancer—but sadly, only half survive beyond five years. </p><p dir="ltr">Patients with the poorest outcomes often have cancers with multiple copies of a gene called <i>CyclinE1</i> which can help cancer cells resist chemotherapy and grow uncontrollably. Although clinical trials may be available for the 20% of patients with this mutation, identifying them usually requires surgery to obtain a tumour biopsy—something that's not always safe or possible for all patients. <br>So for my PhD, I’m developing a less invasive blood test to detect CyclinE1 amplification by extracting and analysing tiny fragments of circulating tumour DNA found in the patient's bloodstream. Because blood is easier to collect, we can take multiple draws to monitor how the cancer responds to treatment over time.  <br>This approach could help match patients with the mutation to more targeted trials and lead to more personalised, effective care for patients with ovarian cancer. </p>