News Archive

"In science, you don't expect to find cures, you just hope."

As Winthrop Professor Bruce Robinson looks back on more than 20 years of research into asbestos-related diseases and forward to more developments in detection and treatment, he says he had no expectations when he first began the journey.

"Soon after I returned from doing my doctorate in the US, the ‘tsunami' of mesothelioma became apparent, with people who had worked in the asbestos mines at Wittenoom flooding through the hospital doors," he said.

"My friend and colleague Professor Bill Musk asked me if I could do anything with the skills I'd learned in my doctorate on the immunology of cancer. So I said to the small group I was working with that I thought this was really important and they said ‘yes, let's try it'."

Professor Robinson said there were no resources at all available for research into mesothelioma. "I asked everyone around the world and there were just no antibodies, no cell lines, nothing. We had to start the field from scratch."

The first task was to get some mesothelioma cells growing, then see what could actually kill them, testing drugs and immune killer cells. The next task was to try new treatments in patients with mesothelioma. "In the early days, we had a few surprisingly spectacular results with clinical trials of recombinant interferon. Patients who were expected to die within a few months ended up living for another five to 13 years. While most patients didn't respond, it became the bait on the hook because it helped us realise that the mesothelioma cancer was quite vulnerable to immune attack. This was the start of a program producing at least 10 world-first clinical trials here to find the best treatments."

The group is the hub of the National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, a powerful NHMRC-funded research co-operative.

"We haven't cured mesothelioma yet - it is a difficult mountain to climb, just like curing other common human cancers. We all hope the answers could be just around the corner and we continue to push on, like explorers," he said.

With mesothelioma and related diseases so concentrated in Western Australia, with the highest rate of the cancer in the world, it is not surprising that Professor Robinson's group has done well with funding. The team is rated by others as the leading team in the world in this field.

The Insurance Commission of WA has supported their research for about 15 years. "They fund us to look into early detection, which would lead to early intervention and hopefully a cure," he said. "That research has helped us find the world's first blood test for mesothelioma."

The State Government has also funded the group for many years, but its focus has been on developing better treatment programs.

One of the lines of research into treatments is getting the immune system to attack the cancer. "But killer cells can't just march in and kill the cancer cells - the cancer actually protects itself with cells that function like sentries and guards, stopping the killer cells from doing their job.

"We are working out how to ‘take them out' so that our immune systems can get in to attack the cancer.

"This research is just starting to show some benefit in melanoma patients and we are translating it into the clinic in mesothelioma. We are also beginning to use the latest gene sequencing technology to ‘crack the code': it's pretty exciting stuff."

When Professor Robinson began his mesothelioma research, he was clearly the leader of the group. Now the leadership is shared equally by three other senior colleagues, Professors Richard Lake, Jenette Creaney and Anna Nowak.

"It's a great group, we all get along together really well and it makes the research sustainable. If any one of us gets hit by a bus tomorrow, the research will continue. And we all have different and complementary skills: Richard is a molecular immunologist and cell/animal biologist, Jenette does the protein and gene work, Anna is an oncologist and immunologist and I'm a respiratory physician and an immunologist."

But Professor Robinson doesn't spend all his time in the laboratory. He cares for many mesothelioma patients, getting quite close to them as he ‘shares their journey to death'. He often has close relationships with their surviving family members, and finds these patients and their families inspiring.

"I also spend some time in the community because there are a lot of people out there who are scared. Everybody in WA has some asbestos in their lungs. But not all of us are going to develop mesothelioma.

"Although I don't seek media attention at all, it is a responsibility to let people know what we're doing, what progress we're making and to give hope to the community."

The establishment of the first mesothelioma cell lines 20 years ago was the springboard for this research and the 20th anniversary of mesothelioma cell lines was celebrated last week with a lecture by leading cancer researcher Professor Roger Reddel, and a cocktail party at the University Club.

Published in UWA News , 6 August 2012