New funding boost for Anal Cancer Research

26 Apr 2023

For people living with HIV, the risk of developing anal cancer is many times higher than in the general population, but fewer than 5% have ever been screened.

In collaboration with the Kirby Institute and Positive Life NSW, St Vincent’s Professor Richard Hillman will be leading the development of a national screening program for people living with HIV, as a prelude to programs for other groups with elevated risks of developing anal cancer, such as solid organ transplant recipients and women with a history of HPV-related issues.

The St Vincent’s state-wide Dysplasia and Anal Cancer Service (DACS) has diagnosed and treated hundreds of patients with anal cancer, and plays a major role in diagnosing and actively monitoring over 700 people with anal pre-cancers.

To date, the only option for these patients has been to ‘watch and wait’, with regular, highly invasive and complicated assessments.

But with generous financial support from St Vincent’s Curran Foundation, Prof Hillman and St Vincent’s Colorectal Surgeon, Dr Hamish Urquhart are pioneering a new approach with a new technique that permanently removes precancerous cells, preventing cancers from ever developing.

Complimenting these recent advances, the Glendonbrook Foundation has recently provided seed funding to trial the development of a national program for anal cancer screening and treatment. The program started in January 2023, will be conducted over 5 years, and is based on many of the approaches developed at DACS.

As part of the program, the team will be looking at innovative screening methods, designed to maximise accessibility for marginalised populations and minimise the need for further investigation and treatment.

“Once this program is rolled out nationally, we should truly be able to make anal cancer history” – Prof Hillman

richard hillman

Professor Richard Hillman