Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association ANZSA

2025 ANZSA Annual Scientific Meeting

The ANZSA Annual Scientific Meeting is less than a month away! This year, we’ll gather in Hobart, Tasmania to share expertise, foster collaboration, and drive innovation in sarcoma care and research.

Theme: United Against Sarcoma: Collaboration and Innovation

We are thrilled to welcome International Guest Speaker, Prof Jason Yustein, paediatric oncologist and physician-scientist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. His research focuses on metastasis and therapeutic resistance in sarcomas, using cutting-edge models and genomic techniques to develop new treatment strategies.

Join us for an inspiring meeting as we advance knowledge and improve outcomes for those affected by sarcoma.

View the full scientific program.

Secure your spot!

2025 Sarcoma Research Grant Recipients

Dr Paul Daniel, a postdoctoral fellow, specialises in low-survival adult and paediatric brain cancers.

His project, 'Development of CD70-targeted Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Sarcomas', builds on the Childhood Cancer Model Atlas (CCMA), an international collaboration using lab-grown models to study childhood cancers and explore new treatments.

Key highlights of his project:

• • Identified a protein highly expressed in chordoma, a type of bone sarcoma.
  • Developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to deliver therapies directly to cancer cells.
  • Aims to create novel, sarcoma-focused therapies for these devastating cancers.

Dr Ciu Tu (Maxine), an early-career cancer immunologist at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland (UQ), focuses on the tumour microenvironment (TME) in hard-to-treat childhood cancers.

Her research addresses a key challenge: Rhabdomyosarcoma is often a "cold" tumour, meaning immune cells that normally fight cancer struggle to infiltrate and attack the tumour.

Key highlights of her project:

• • Investigating a new approach to "heat up" these tumours, making them more responsive to treatment and enhancing immune-mediated cancer elimination.
  • Discovery that STING, a protein that activates the immune system, is increased in tumours after chemotherapy.
  • Combining chemotherapy with a STING-activating drug has shown promising early results, including slowed tumour growth in preclinical models.

Sarcoma Community Connection

We are excited to host our second Community Connect alongside the Annual Scientific Meeting in Hobart. This free one-hour session will take place at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday, 11 October, starting at 12.45pm.

The invitation is open to sarcoma patients, carers, families, and survivors a chance to connect, share experiences, and engage with the broader sarcoma community.

Community Connect topics:

• • Learn about the Consumer Advisory Panel
  • Strategies for coping with fear of recurrence
  • Latest on immunotherapy for liposarcoma
  • Connect with the Sarcoma Community

Register for Community Connect.

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Research Developments

LMS Biomarker Clinical Study

The Chris O’Brien Life House has enrolled its first patient in the LMS Biomarker Clinical Study. In collaboration with investigators from the University of Michigan, this study aims to examine whether ctDNA (circulating tumour DNA) in the blood can be used as a biomarker to help predict the benefits of chemotherapy for a particular group of patients.

Myxoid Liposarcoma (MLS) Registry

In collaboration with The Netherlands Cancer Institute, the Myxoid Liposarcoma (MLS) Registry aims to fill gaps in our current knowledge about the best treatment strategies for MLS. Currently, the study is open at 6 sites across Australia, with the Queensland site at The Princess Alexandra Hospital reaching its first milestone by enrolling its first patient.

The ReLaPSe Study

The ReLaPSe Study is now open at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre! This international study being led by ANZSA aims to answer the important question of which treatment option (surgery with or without preoperative radiotherapy) is best for patients diagnosed with recurrent retroperitoneal Liposarcoma.

QUEST Clinical study

The Quality of Life and Experiences of Sarcoma Trajectories (QUEST) has met its recruitment goal. This essential study aims to improve the diagnostic journey for sarcoma patients and ultimately enhance their outcomes.

Learn more about our clinical trials and studies on the ANZSA website. 

FLORRAL Study

We are proud to announce the launch of FLORRAL: Risk Stratification for Patients with First Local Recurrence of Retroperitoneal Liposarcoma, a new retrospective data collection study led by ANZSA Director Prof David Gyorki, in collaboration with ANZSA colleagues worldwide.

This international, ANZSA-led study aims to characterise the anatomical location of first local recurrence in patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma, as well as to understand recurrence patterns and explore the various treatment approaches. The study reflects a strong collaborative effort, with more than 20 national and international sites already shown interest in contributing to this valuable data.