Cancer Symptom Trials and Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative

PaCCSC & CST Research Forum 2025

The Science behind the Art of care: Clinical trials in cancer symptoms and palliative care

27-28 March 2025 | ICC, Sydney

We’re excited to invite you to the PaCCSC & CST Research Forum 2025, where we’ll explore the scientific foundations that inform best practices in cancer symptom management and palliative care.

We are thrilled to welcome three international keynote speakers to the forum:

• • Professor William Dale, Geriatric Medicine, USA
  • Professor Catherine Walshe, Palliative Care, UK
  • Professor Steve Pantilat, Palliative Care, USA

This event is for researchers, healthcare professionals and consumers with experience or interest in palliative care or cancer symptom management research.

We invite you to take this opportunity to connect with leading experts and build your networks in palliative care and cancer symptom management research.

Register now

Email enquiries to cst@uts.edu.au

Expressions of interest – Join a PaCCSC & CST Symptom Node Subcommittee

Help shape the future of palliative care and cancer symptom management

Researchers, clinicians and consumers with an interest in palliative care and/or cancer symptom management are invited to express interest in joining a PaCCSC & CST Symptom Node Subcommittee

Our seven Symptom Node Subcommittees (SNSCs) each lead a dedicated research program focused on a specific symptom:

• • Appetite and cachexia
  • Breathlessness and sleep
  • Cognitive and neurological disorders
  • Fatigue
  • Gut dysfunction
  • Nausea
  • Pain

This is an excellent opportunity to extend your personal research profile as part of a collaborative research team, while contributing to better quality-of-life outcomes for patients and families.

Hannah Wardill, Chair, Gut Dysfunction Symptom Node SubCommittee

We'd love to hear from you if:

• • you have an interest in collaborating on a research program investigating one or more symptoms and its impacts on people with cancer or in palliative care
  • have capacity to be committed and engaged to support the work of the node.

Commitment

Term of membership: two years Meeting schedule: quarterly 1-hour meetings. For questions or to express interest in joining an SNSC, please email cst@uts.edu.au

IMPACCT Rapid Program

The IMPACCT Rapid Program is a collaborative international quality improvement program that studies the prospective use of medications and non-pharmacological interventions commonly used in palliative care and cancer symptom management.

Participating in the program provides an opportunity to develop the capacity and research capabilities of you and your staff who may not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in research.

Adult series

Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) for pancreatic cancer – series 53

The PERT for pancreatic cancer Rapid series is open for recruitment. This study aims to explore clinicians’ prescribing practices and evaluate the efficacy and safety of PERT for people with pancreatic cancer. PERT is a biological medication administered in capsule form to treat pancreatic exocrine insufficient (PEI) as it aids digestion.

Research suggests that PERT is well tolerated and helps with symptom management, weight stabilisations, toleration of oncology treatments and even survival. However, published literature indicates that prescribing rates are low globally among clinicians treating people with pancreatic cancer.

Paediatric series

Ketamine for cancer-related mucositis pain – series 42

In this series, we are seeking to establish the broad utility and toxicity of ketamine for children with chronic non-cancer pain and cancer pain in real-life situations.

Ketamine is widely used for paediatric general and regional anaesthesia, procedural sedation, as an adjunct to opioid analgesia, and as a low-dose continuous infusion for the treatment of both acute and complex pain.

If you can help us to collect data to improve the available evidence about the effectiveness of ketamine for children with cancer-related mucositis pain, please get in touch.

To express interest in participating in these series or to learn more about other series in the IMPACCT Rapid Program, visit uts.edu.au/rapid or email rapid@uts.edu.au