Health minister Greg Hunt has announced $8 million in new grants for cancer research.
According to the minister, through Cancer Australia, government will invest $6.5 million combined with $2.1 million from Cancer Australia’s funding partners, Cure Cancer Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation and Cancer Council NSW.
"This brings the total funding for the 2017 round of Cancer Australia’s Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS) to $8.6 million," he said.
The 24 successful grant recipients lead projects focusing on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a range of cancer types.
These include cancers of the breast, colon, head and neck, kidney, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas and prostate, as well as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, leukaemia, melanoma and uveal melanoma, multiple myeloma and sarcoma.
"There is also a strong focus on defeating and improving the outcomes of childhood brain cancers and other cancers like neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system common in children," said Mr Hunt.
Sixty per cent of the grant funding will go to projects that focus on rare and less common cancers and cancers with low survival rates.
Cancer Australia’s PdCCRS has provided $124 million for priority-based cancer research since its inception in 2007, said Mr Hunt.
This latest round of grant funding complements existing programs like the Australian Brain Cancer Mission which was announced in October 2017.