Targeted hope: redefining treatment for pancreatic cancer | UoW

"After diagnosing pancreatic cancer in my beloved father myself, my world fell apart. In only six months, the disease took him from us. The treatments he received were brutal. Chemotherapy left him exhausted, malnourished, and in relentless pain. The side effects were too severe to let my dad and me enjoy the last cups of our tea and chat about the past, present, and future.

Because of his age and the risk of life-threatening complications, he was never offered immunotherapy. Doctors explained that while these drugs are powerful, they can overstimulate the immune system and cause dangerous side effects, especially in older patients. It was heartbreaking to know that cutting-edge treatments existed, yet my dad couldn’t receive them because of the risks. He was left with toxic chemotherapy as the only option.

This is why Elahe’s research means so much to me and to families like mine. Her work on localised chemo-immunotherapy using biodegradable implants offers a way to deliver life-saving drugs directly to the tumour, where they are needed most, while sparing the rest of the body from harmful side effects. A novel therapy like immunotherapy could have given my father a real chance of surviving longer without the fear of overwhelming and drastic adverse effects on his body. It could have meant less suffering, more strength to enjoy his last months, and perhaps even more time with us.

What Elahe is doing is more than science; it is compassion in action. She is reimagining how cancer is treated so that patients may not just live longer, but live calmly and remain as beautiful and stable as before in the minds of their family. I deeply appreciate and truly believe that her research could redefine the future of pancreatic cancer treatment and prevent families from enduring the heartbreak we went through."

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Hamid A. Aghdaei MD, PhD - Gastroenterologist, Lismore Base Hospital

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"Detsamma Investments Pty Ltd, trading as “FivepHusion”, is a private biotechnology company led by experienced executives and clinicians developing optimised cancer therapeutics for a range of solid tumours. We are an industry partner to Associate Professor Kara Vine-Perrow and her team, including Ms Elahe Minaei, at the University of Wollongong. We are collaborating on the development of their localised implantable treatment of pancreatic cancers and other solid tumours. The scientific and clinical rationale and commercial strategy for this technology is closely aligned with FivepHusion’s mission to optimise cancer therapy to improve patient treatment outcomes and quality of life.

Ms Minaei’s research project on developing and characterising the immunotherapy & chemotherapy treatment outcomes of the implantable device is incredibly exciting. Her work demonstrates the potential to optimise and exploit the utility of immunotherapeutic drugs through novel combinations and precise delivery directly into inoperable tumours, leading to greater efficacy whilst minimizing systemic toxicities which typically affect patient quality of life and often limit effective therapy. A particular attraction of Ms Minaei’s research is that it demonstrates the capacity of this technology to optimise treatment with existing drugs, thus enabling the leveraging of clinical know-how to facilitate a faster route to market, and benefits for patients sooner than typical newer unproven and higher risk therapeutic approaches.

The pancreatic cancer unmet medical need is significant and growing in Australia and internationally, with the expectation that it will be the second leading cause of cancer death, and a US$7B market, by 2030. There is a critical need to develop and commercialise safer and more efficacious therapies for this and other solid tumours. Ms Minaei’s research supports the development of the implantable drug eluting device as a game changer for the treatment of these cancers. We are delighted to be collaborating with her on this shared goal. I recommend her to the Selection Committee."
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Christian Toouli PhD, GAICD - CEO & Managing Director

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"As a clinician treating patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) for the past 15 years, I deeply value research that advances practical, patient-focused innovations. Ms Elahe Minaei’s work stands out for its ability to move beyond standard systemic therapy and toward actionable strategies for localised immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. By integrating immune gene expression profiling with studies of the interactions between chemotherapy and the tumour immune microenvironment, she has generated insights with direct implications for the development and optimisation of localised immunotherapy implants.

Her study revealed that both the type and timing of chemotherapy influence a chemokine-driven immune remodelling pattern within the pancreatic tumour microenvironment, patterns that could define a critical therapeutic window for deploying localised immunotherapy implants directly into the tumour bed. Her preclinical research deploying potent immunomodulatory drugs in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (anti-PD1) and chemotherapy introduced a novel approach to successfully integrate chemotherapy and immunotherapy in this highly treatment-resistant malignancy. This reinforces the concept that localised immunotherapy implants warrant further investigation and validation in clinical settings.

Ms Minaei’s research provides the scientific foundation for localised immunotherapy approaches in otherwise immune-resistant pancreatic cancer. This level of precision could meaningfully improve patient outcomes in one of the most challenging cancers to treat.

I consider Ms Minaei’s work rigorous, innovative, and highly relevant to both current and future patient care, and I strongly support her nomination for the Shaping Australia Award."

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Morteza Aghmesheh MD PhD FRACP GradDipSc - Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist, Head of Medical Oncology Department, Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, The Bright Building, Prince of Wales Hospital‍