高清福利片

It hadn鈥檛 really occurred to Professor Richard Scolyer (MD 鈥�06) or Professor Georgina Long (BSc 鈥�93, PhD 鈥�96, MBBS 鈥�01) that they might be recognised as Australians of the Year. Sure, their research into melanoma was groundbreaking, but it was a packed field.

鈥淵ou get to meet everyone who鈥檚 been a state recipient,鈥� Richard says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e great people 鈥� all deserving recipients.鈥�

Nonetheless, all nominees had to submit an acceptance speech before the ceremony, and they were told they should practise presenting theirs. 鈥淲e only had half an hour to practise,鈥� Georgina says. 鈥淎nd at the end of it 鈥� Richard will tell you 鈥� we said, 鈥楧o we really need to do this again?鈥欌��

She laughs.

鈥淲e practised two or three times,鈥� Richard says. 鈥淭hen we said, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e not going to win it 鈥� let鈥檚 just go and get dressed for the event.鈥欌��

Then their names were called.

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The buzz surrounding the pair goes back to May 2023. Richard was in Krakow, Poland, delivering a series of lectures. His research has the kind of global profile that means he travels frequently for work. On this occasion, his wife, Katie, had accompanied him so they could hike in the Tatra Mountains once the conference wrapped.

Their Friday hike was fabulous. Richard has always been an active person. In his forties, he re-started triathlons to keep fit. 鈥淲e were up very high, near the border of Slovakia. As you get higher, your brain swells,鈥� Richard says. 鈥淭he next day I felt very tired and sick, which is unusual for me. I had a seizure that ultimately ended up being the first presentation of my brain tumour.鈥�

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It was a Sunday morning in Sydney when Georgina鈥檚 phone rang. Katie delivered the news. As a problem solver, Georgina immediately wanted images of Richard鈥檚 brain scans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a joke in my family 鈥� I鈥檓 called Miss Fix-it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 presented with the problem, I want to fix it. Richard is like that too. But I want to do it yesterday.鈥�

Within 24 hours, Georgina had shared the scans with Associate Professor Brindha Shivalingam 鈥� a close colleague and brain surgeon who confirmed she was looking at glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with poor patient outcomes. 鈥淚 got off the phone with Brindha,鈥� Georgina says. Her voice cracks a little and she takes an uncharacteristic pause. 鈥淚t was that 鈥業鈥檓 in a nightmare鈥� pit of your stomach feeling. I was just overwhelmed with grief, to be honest.鈥�

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Georgina and Richard aren鈥檛 certain of the specifics of their introduction. Georgina thinks she must have dropped by to see Dr Kerry Crotty in the Pathology Department where Richard worked, while she was studying. Their paths continued to cross, but she can鈥檛 remember a moment when it all clicked into place.

From his perspective, Richard recalls telling Georgina that melanoma research opportunities were on the brink of expanding.

He was right.

Australia has some of the highest melanoma rates in the world, with a diagnosis every 30 minutes and a death every six hours, earning it the nickname 鈥楢ustralia鈥檚 national cancer鈥�.

A decade ago, the death rate was one every five hours. Most patients with advanced melanoma survived around nine months. Typical treatments involved chemotherapy, which was basically ineffective, and surgery or radiotherapy to symptomatic areas.

鈥淚 think at that stage every major melanoma unit in the world had a surgeon at the head of it, because it was a surgical disease. There weren鈥檛 drugs that worked,鈥� says Richard.

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In 2009, a large research grant brought Georgina and Richard together in the lab that they would eventually co-lead from the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. They were conducting the first human trials of immunotherapy drugs designed to stimulate the body鈥檚 own immune system to fight melanoma.

And they worked.

It was what Georgina calls 鈥榓 penicillin moment鈥�. The five-year survival rate for patients with advanced melanoma jumped from five percent to 50 percent.

This success sparked another thought 鈥� what if the body could begin fighting the cancer prior to its removal? Called 'neoadjuvant immunotherapy鈥�, drug combinations are administered before surgery, to prompt an immune response. After the cancer has been removed, more drugs are often administered to ensure the immune system is trained to continue fighting the cancer. This is called adjuvant immunotherapy.

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Progress in complex cancer research is slow. Though she had experienced this firsthand, Georgina was still confronted by the glioblastoma literature.

鈥淕rief is funny. It鈥檚 sort of overwhelming and it takes up every brain cell, and then with time it just gets less and less,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had a problem to solve, so I just started thinking. And then I started reading everything I could.鈥�

Glioblastoma sends snake-like tendrils out through the brain. Damage to the delicate surrounding tissues during surgery can affect memory, mood and personality. Standard treatment involves removal of as much of the tumour as is safe, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. It has not changed since 2005, and Richard鈥檚 subtype is essentially incurable.

鈥淭hat was incredibly disappointing for someone like me,鈥� Georgina says.

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Like Richard, Georgina鈥檚 research has earned her a global profile and a large network of world-leading specialists. Her reading made her feel like she could see a way forward 鈥� the gaps in trials that, with persistence, could become a pathway to more effective treatment.

Melanoma in the brain responds to a combination of immunotherapy drugs administered as initial treatment when the patient is first diagnosed, but this logic has not been applied to glioblastoma.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e done all these trials of one immunotherapy drug in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, where it鈥檚 tested as a follow-up treatment to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and said it doesn鈥檛 work,鈥� Georgina explains. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 just thinking, 鈥楴o! We haven鈥檛 tested all the things we could possibly test, nor in the right way!鈥欌��

She got to work immediately, pushing questions out to her peers about alternative options, and asking their opinion on treatments that she had devised.

Katie had called with the news on Sunday. By Tuesday, Georgina had a bold new plan.

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鈥淢y life has turned upside-down,鈥� Richard says matter-of-factly.

As a pathologist, he had spent his early career examining cancers through a microscope, and had seen the sneaky coils of glioblastoma up close.

His initial conversations with Georgina about new approaches to his own cancer made complete sense to him 鈥� treat it like they would the most aggressive melanoma. Use combinations of immunotherapy drugs prior to surgery, and follow up with further personalised immunotherapy treatment once the tumour had been removed. It didn鈥檛 feel like a difficult choice.The challenge lay in convincing other people.

鈥淚 was told I could die sooner or be left with permanent neurological side- effects that would ruin the rest of my life,鈥� Richard recalls. 鈥淏ut working in this field for a long time, I鈥檝e been part of the teams that have worked on these clinical trials. It鈥檚 me looking down the microscope at the results that have helped transform the management of the disease.鈥�

Finding an extended medical team who were on board with the treatment plan was difficult. Richard and his wife wrote extensive letters stating that they understood the risks.

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In June 2023, Richard had an open craniotomy 鈥� a riskier-than-usual procedure 鈥� to formally diagnose the glioblastoma. This was followed by treatment with a trio of immunotherapy drugs, then, 12 days later, surgery to remove as much of the tumour as safely possible.

Though recovery has been taxing physically and emotionally for Richard, the results have been positive. Samples from the removed tumour showed a significant increase in activated immune cells, meaning the immunotherapy drug had crossed the blood鈥揵rain barrier. It鈥檚 an enormous breakthrough that could reshape the future of glioblastoma treatment 鈥� and indeed many other cancers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e actually learned from Richard鈥檚 tumour 鈥� including things that could influence vaccine development 鈥� and are now applying it to melanoma,鈥� Georgina says.

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Watching their Australian of the Year acceptance speech, it鈥檚 impossible to tell that Georgina and Richard took to the stage slightly under-rehearsed. They barely need notes to state their case 鈥� prevention is better than cure.

鈥淶ero deaths from melanoma is possible 鈥� we need a targeted screening program, and more investment in research. This must be a national priority.鈥� says Georgina, eyes firmly on the audience. The audience bursts into applause.

Speaking to them later, it鈥檚 obvious that they don鈥檛 see their research as something that ends with their breakthroughs.

鈥淲e were so surprised, and very honoured, to be named Australians of the
Year,鈥� Georgina says. 鈥淏ut it is decades of work. Even before us 鈥� it represents decades of work in immunotherapy.鈥�

Having dedicated and ultimately risked his life to push for better patient outcomes, Richard is unsurprisingly direct in his wishes for the future.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do something on your own. You need a great team,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou need to have courage, but also be courageous. Don鈥檛 just lean in 鈥� leap in, if you really want to make a difference.鈥�

Written by Alex Johnson for聽Sydney Alumni Magazine.聽Photography by Stefanie Zingsheim.