Annual Report 2017-18 | Monash Health

Research and
partnerships
Our research vision
To be a health service that integrates excellence in clinical
services, education and research. Monash Health provides
a supportive and dynamic environment for health care
professionals to conduct world-class clinical and translational
research that drives improved clinical practice.
Monash Health
Translation Precinct
The Monash Health Translation
Precinct (MHTP) partnership aims to be
a world leader in translational research,
generating innovative scientific
discoveries and revolutionising clinical
care in a dynamic and collaborative
environment.
The MHTP is a partnership between
Monash Health, Hudson Research
Institute and Monash University. MHTP
is also a critical component of Monash
Partners Academic Health Science
Centre. Through these partnerships,
leading researchers have direct access
to clinicians and consumers, enabling
scientific breakthroughs to reach
the bedside more effectively than
ever before.
Areas of focus within the MHTP
include:
• Cancer
• Neurosciences
• Endocrinology
• Inflammation
• Women’s, Children’s, and
Reproductive Health.
Breast cancer: Single
dose of radiation replaces
daily treatment
A single nine-minute dose of radiation
therapy delivered during breast cancer
surgery has replaced three to five
weeks of daily treatment at Monash
Health. Intra-operative radiotherapy
was trialled in 2017-18 at Moorabbin
Hospital, together with Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre. The trial
found if radiation was delivered at
the time of surgery to remove the
tumour, it was as effective as standard
external radiation.
The trial and introduction of the therapy
into standard care practices, means
Victorian women with early, low-risk
breast cancer are among the first in
the world to have access to intraoperative
radiation therapy, which
could revolutionise cancer treatment by
allowing it to be completed in one day.
Consumers previously required
up to 25 hospital visits to complete
their treatment.
Intra-operative radiotherapy offers
women with early stage breast cancers
another therapeutic option, a better
patient experience and a more rapid
return to normal activity. The technique
delivers radiation to a more targeted
area through a balloon in the resection
cavity, which spares organs and tissue
from radiation.
Aspirin and the mysteries of
preeclampsia
A Monash Health researcher involved
in world-first research is spreading
the word about a simple solution to a
potentially-deadly condition.
Dr Daniel Rolnik was part of a team of
researchers whose ground-breaking
research was published in June’s edition
of the prestigious New England Journal
of Medicine. The large study screened
almost 27,000 women in six countries,
revealing aspirin is an effective
treatment for preventing preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a major cause of
maternal and infant death around the
world. It is often unclear what causes
preeclampsia, with treatment options
often limited once the condition
has developed.
Dr Rolnik found improved screening
and a simple daily dose of inexpensive
aspirin could dramatically reduce the
incidence and mortality numbers.
He observed a 60 per cent reduction
in the development of preterm
preeclampsia in women taking a low
dose of aspirin during pregnancy,
compared to the placebo group, and
more than 80 per cent reduction in
preeclampsia requiring delivery before
34 weeks.
Monash Health doctors
invent bidirectional cannula
to save limbs and lives
Monash Health clinicians led a
collaboration of Australian organisations
to solve a global medical problem that
will save lives around the world.
A ‘bidirectional cannula’ device was
developed by three Monash Health and
Monash University clinicians. It is likely
to significantly reduce complication
rates around the world during certain
types of heart surgery procedures.
18 Monash Health Annual Report 2017-18