NANOS Annual Conference 2023

New Zealand Aotearoa Neuro-Oncology Society

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Queenstown
Saturday, 26th August, 2023

Chair: Melissa James

Keynote – Kelvin Woon (Neurosurgeon) & Caroline Woon (Clinical nurse specialist for neurosurgery)
Title: The patients’ journey with high grade brain tumour
Presented three Wellington neurosurgery patient case studies of high-grade glioma, including awake craniotomy with Gliolan.

Vanaja Muthurajah (Neuropathologist)
Title: Pathologic diagnosis of high-grade glial tumours from morphology and IHC to molecular
Presented two case studies from Wellington Hospital of histological and molecular diagnosis of high-grade glioma.

Cher Shui (Neurosurgical registrar)
Title: History of surgical management of high-grade glioma – current recommendations for extent of resection and intraoperative strategies
Presented current literature on methods for maximal safe resection while preserving patient quality of life.

Ziad Thotathil (Radiation oncologist)
Title: Survey of management patterns for high grade glioma in NZ
Presented results of a national survey of radiation oncology practice for high grade glioma from NZ DHBs, showing similarities of practice around the country with any differences considered within the boundaries of clinical judgement.

Swee Tan (Plastic surgeon & founder of Gillies McIndoe Research Institute & board chair)
Title: Targeting Renin-Angiotensin System in Glioblastoma
Presented the repurposing of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors to target cancer stem cells for glioblastoma – updates on phase I clinical trials.

Chair: Tania Slatter

Keynote – Melanie McConnell (Associate Professor – cancer biologist)
Title: BCL6 as a Driver of Survival in Glioblastoma
Presented a proteomic analysis of glioblastoma cells showing that BCL6 was important in therapeutic resistance to chemo- and radiation-therapy, and inhibiting BCL6 sensitises cancer cells to these therapies.

Giles Critchley (Neurosurgeon & honorary clinical professor)
Title: Liquid biopsy for malignant brain tumours
Presented the potential of using extracellular vesicles in liquid biopsies from brain tumour patients as an inflammatory biomarker signature for the diagnosis of
glioblastoma.

Gabi Dachs (Professor – cancer biologist)
Title: Ascorbate and the hypoxic pathway in glioblastoma
Presented work associating ascorbate levels with hypoxic pathways in glioblastoma, with the potential of using high ascorbate to reduce hypoxic responses and prolong survival.

Amy Bennie (PhD candidate – Deirmeier Lab)
Title: Investigating the Therapeutic Potential of Long Non-coding RNAs in GBM
Presented anti-sense oligomers specifically designed to target long non-coding RNAs in organoid models of glioblastoma as a potential therapeutic treatment.

Chair: Caroline Woon

Chris Tse (Chair of Brain Tumour Support NZ)
Title: Bridging communities, breaking barriers, building progress: highlights from the 5th Biennial World Summit of Brain Tumour patient Advocates 2023
Presented the summary from the 5th Biennial World Summit of Brain Tumour patient Advocates 2023, including highlights from the conference presentations and international clinical trials.

Jayne Sheridan (Neurosurgical nurse specialist)
Title: Malignant Brain Tumours in Auckland
Presented brain tumour statistics and a nurse perspective of the journey of brain tumour patients from the northern region.

John Fountain (Cancer Control Agency; Manager – data, monitoring and reporting)
Title: CanShare: an Overview – National Brain Tumour Registry Discussion
Presented the CanShare platform for real-time clinical data sharing amongst clinicians and establishing a brain tumour data repository for brain tumour registry and research.

Jasmine White
Utilising the GLICO Model to Determine Clinically Relevant Metabolic Therapeutic Targets for Glioblastoma

Freya Weth
Exploring Molecular Mechanisms of Repurposed Drugs in Glioblastoma Organoids

Azri Haji Mohd Yasin
Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases: Waikato hospital experience

Zoe Woolf
Getting to the core of microglia versus bone marrow derived macrophages in glioblastoma

Carina Lee
Developing novel therapeutics for glioblastoma