New funding supports four cancer research projects

30 September 2026

Health and medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Department of Cancer Sciences, Auckland Bioengineering Institute

Cancer research at the University of Auckland has been boosted by grants totalling more than $988,000 from Cancer Society Auckland Northland.

The grants provide momentum for four projects that could improve the survival and well-being of people with cancer in the future, says Ben Lawrence, head of the University's Department of Cancer Sciences.

New Breast GPS could end 'devastating' delays

A new tool to accurately map the exact site of breast cancers is being developed by Dr Prasad Babarenda Gamage and Associate Professor Anthony Doyle.

Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of suspected breast cancer is performed with a woman lying on her front. This can pick up tumours that remain hidden from mammograms and ultrasound. However, mammograms are taken with the woman standing, and these are needed to perform a biopsy.

"The breast changes shape between the two scans, so it can be extremely difficult to accurately locate tumours," says Doyle, an associate professor of anatomy and medical imaging, who also works as a radiologist at Auckland Hospital and in a private clinic.

If a tumour is invisible on a mammogram or ultrasound, a biopsy can't be safely performed and an MRI-guided biopsy is required, he says.

MRI-guided biopsies are at least twice as expensive, take a long time, and are only available in a few major city hospitals, says Doyle.

"Because of this severe bottleneck, many women - disproportionately Māori and those living in rural areas - may end up in a terrifying 'watch and wait' cycle.

"Without a biopsy, it can take months to determine whether an abnormality is cancer or not.

"This delay is psychologically devastating, and when you're dealing with aggressive cancers, delays can pose a risk to women's lives," says Doyle.

The new Breast GPS is being developed to overcome these problems, says Babarenda Gamage, a senior research fellow at the University's Auckland Bioengineering Institute.

Using advanced physics-based computer modelling, the software will calculate how breast tissue moves when compressed.

"We are working on mapping the MRI tumour directly onto the mammogram image in less than a minute, showing the doctor where to biopsy," Babarenda Gamage says.

Thanks to a $200,000 grant from Cancer Society Auckland Northland, the team is developing the Breast GPS to combine MRI and 3D mammography. They will test the tool on scans from 600 previous patients to show how accurately it can pinpoint tumours.

"We hope our Breast GPS will allow women to receive a diagnosis in a single visit at their local clinic," says Doyle.

"This could reduce the time women spend anxiously waiting for a diagnosis.

"It could also help Māori and rural women get a diagnosis more easily, which would improve their survival rates."

The team has partnered with global imaging device manufacturers to ensure the tool is ready to roll out globally, if it is proven to be effective.

They have also teamed up with Breast Cancer Foundation NZ to co-design a visual interface that will allow doctors to show patients what will happen during their biopsy.

"The tool will use the patient's own 3D images to help them understand their cancer and the treatment.

"The idea is to help reduce fear and empower patients," says Babarenda Gamage.

Developing a new prodrug for head and neck cancers

A grant of just over $250,000 will boost research into a new prodrug for head and neck cancers.

Associate Professor Mike Hay and Dr Cho Rong Hong previously developed a drug that could be used with radiotherapy to effectively kill cancer cells , but it also made healthy tissue more vulnerable to radiation.

Now, they are testing a new version of the drug - a prodrug - that selectively sensitises tumours to radiation, but spares normal tissues during radiotherapy.

The prodrug is an inactive drug that relies on cancer cells to activate it.

Using mouse models, the team will test the effectiveness of the new prodrug.

"If this study proves the prodrug and our new drug increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy, we hope to launch clinical trials within the next three years," says Hay.

Taking the guesswork out of prostate cancer treatment

Helping improve treatment for prostate cancer is the goal for Dr Hayley Reynolds and Associate Professor Giuseppe Sasso.

They received over $253,400 to expand their research on a new technique that could help doctors determine whether prostate cancer treatment has been effective or whether further treatment is needed.

More than 4,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in New Zealand each year, making it the most common cancer among New Zealand men, says Sasso, a cancer radiologist and professor in the Department of Cancer Sciences.

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) can be delivered to treat prostate cancer in five sessions over about 10 days. However, doctors lack a reliable method to identify whether SABR has been effective or if further treatment, such as hormone therapy, is required, says Reynolds, a senior research fellow at Auckland Bioengineering Institute.

"This matters because hormone therapy can cause significant long-term side effects, including fatigue, reduced bone density and impacts on their quality of life," she says.

The team is developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tools that aim to detect early signs that treatment has been successful or that cancer could return.

The research builds on a promising Auckland clinical trial currently underway.

The trial will expand to include more participants, particularly Māori and men living in Northland. The team also plans to expand the study into Gisborne.

"Most prostate cancers are found early, when they are treatable, but Māori men are almost twice as likely to die from the disease than other men in New Zealand," says Reynolds.

"Men from rural areas also face barriers, because they have to travel long distances for treatment."

Sasso says the painless MRI-based tool they are developing could help doctors decide on the best course of treatment for each patient.

"Hopefully, patients can avoid unnecessary treatments, which could make a big difference to their lives," he says.

Creating new tests for uterine cancer

Associate Professor Cherie Blenkiron is developing new screening tests for cancer of the uterus.

The research has been boosted with a $285,000 grant.

Early detection of uterine cancer would allow for early treatment, improving survival rates and quality of life for patients, says Blenkiron, who is head of the University's Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.

Currently, New Zealand doesn't have a screening programme for uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer or endometrial cancer.

Ten years ago, about 600 new cases of uterine cancer were detected in New Zealand each year, but that has risen rapidly to about 750 a year.

While it used to be regarded as a disease affecting women after menopause, it now strikes women as young as 30, says Blenkiron.

"It's worrying that the numbers of women with uterine cancer are rising each year and they're getting younger.

"It impacts on their long-term quality of life and fertility," she says.

Current tests can identify the subtype of uterine cancer a patient has, but access to these tests is not available to all New Zealand women.

"The biopsies used to take samples of tissue from the uterus can also be painful and sometimes need to be repeated," says Blenkiron.

The scientists are developing simple, painless new tests, which could see women taking their own swabs for analysis. These could be used for uterine cancer screening in the future.

They are developing a genomic test and will use it to catalogue the differences in the uterine cancers of 200 New Zealand women.

"This test could help pick up cancer earlier and also identify the subtype of uterine cancer, so doctors can make the best decisions for care.

"About 130 women die from uterine cancer in New Zealand each year, so we hope these tests could make a real difference for women's survival," Blenkiron says.

Media contact

Rose Davis | Research communications adviser
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