Chair and CEO Report

This is a very exciting time to be part of Breast Cancer Trials (BCT), as we ambitiously look to the future and the impact that we want to make for our beneficiaries.

During the reporting period, our Board of Directors agreed to a major investment in our organisation, that will grow our research and fundraising activities. Our aim is simple – we want to make the greatest impact in the areas of greatest need, so that no more lives are cut short from breast cancer.

Building on our successes over the last 45 years – of which there are many – we will pursue vital research in key areas that are likely to make the greatest contribution to improvements in outcomes for people affected by breast cancer.

This investment will see the depth and breadth of our research program grow, as we encourage new clinical trial ideas, engage with our international research partners on opportunities to collaborate, and actively target priority areas where we need to drive progress for patients. We look forward to announcing more about this organisation-wide ambition.

We had a great year of research results over the last 12 months, increasing our knowledge and understanding of breast cancer treatments: 

• The primary results of the Neo-N trial were announced as a late breaking abstract at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). The results showed that over half of early-stage triple negative breast cancer patients involved in the immunotherapy study, had no evidence of cancer in the breast and lymph nodes at surgery following treatment. Professor Sherene Loi is the Study Chair of Neo-N.
• Primary results for the PROSPECT clinical trial were published in The Lancet, showing that the use of breast magnetic imaging (MRI) prior to breast surgery, may be able to identify patients with early breast cancer who can safely avoid radiotherapy. In addition, the study found that patients who did not have radiotherapy, had substantially lower rates of fear of breast cancer recurrence and better quality of life, compared to those who did. This is also an Australian clinical trial and the Study Chair is Professor Bruce Mann.
• An analysis of data from the IBIS-II international clinical trial, found that hormone levels measured through blood tests, may be able to identify postmenopausal women who will benefit most from the breast cancer prevention drug anastrozole. The results were published in the Lancet Oncology and presented at the SABCS.

The OPTIMA trial opened to recruitment, which aims to find out if using a test called Prosigna can help make safe and accurate decisions about whether or not chemotherapy treatment is needed, for patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. There are now several tests which give more accurate information about individual breast cancers, that use a sample of the cancer (tissue sample) already removed by a surgeon. Research such as OPTIMA will help us better understand how these tests can better tailor treatments for patients. Dr Belinda Kiely is the Study Chair of OPTIMA.

Our Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) for researchers continues to grow year on year and 2023 was no exception. The 44th ASM was held in Auckland, New Zealand, with the theme of ‘Equity in Trials and Trial Participation’ and attracted our largest audience ever. We sincerely thank the ASM Organising Committee for their work and dedication to creating a vibrant and relevant program. Our international speakers were – Professor Sibylle Loibl from Germany, Professor Philip Poortmans from Belgium and Professor Alastair Thompson from the United States of America.

Mrs Larissa Willoughby was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2023, bringing a lived experience of breast cancer to the role. Larissa has been a wonderful addition to the Board and is Principal of a professional consulting services firm, Australian Environmental Auditors (AEA). She brings over 28 years of professional experience in risk management, governance and auditing.

The passion of our fantastic supporters was demonstrated in new fundraising events over the last year. We were humbled by the outpouring of generosity from the community for the 100km in July Facebook Challenge and the 57km Dog Walk Challenge – raising $958,000 and $711,000 respectively. It was wonderful to see those who participated in the challenges sharing their photos online, and also sharing their experiences of breast cancer and what motivated them to participate.

We also acknowledge and thank the many thousands of individuals, businesses and organisations who generously donated to our research program over the past year. Their commitment inspires our researchers and makes progress possible. Our sincere condolences go to those who have lost a loved one to breast cancer during this past year, and we acknowledge our supporters who generously left a gift in their Will during this period.

BCT is investing more on our research program than ever before and this is supported by years of prudent investment and solid financial management. We have increased investment in the research program by approximately 8% each year for the last five years, as we continue to open important clinical trials that aim to improve treatments and save lives. In the reporting period our fundraising income grew by $1.356m from the prior year to $6.788m, and we reported a $2.248m net deficit. The planned cost of our future research program is $15.171m.

Our research would also not be possible without the dedication of our members and staff. Each year we award Life Membership to members that recognises hard work, commitment and contributions to the BCT research program over a significant period of time. In the reporting period, life membership was awarded to Associate Professor Jane Beith, Professor Bogda Koczwara, Professor Martin Stockler, Associate Professor Craig Underhill, Professor Arlene Chan and Dr David Blakey. We also thank Ms Belinda Carrall in our fundraising department, who reached a milestone of five years at BCT, and Dr Nicholas Zdenkowski, our resident Medical Advisor, who also celebrated five years in this key role.

While the primary focus for BCT is to save lives from breast cancer through clinical trials research, we are committed to conducting our activities in a way that considers our environmental, social and community impact. We have been implementing ESG processes and practices across our business, to make sure that we are operating a sustainable organisation and in 2023 we measured our carbon footprint. We are pleased to report that 100% of our head office electricity is sourced from green power, 100% of our air travel is carbon neutral and we recycle more than 40% of our office waste. We will keep building on these achievements, including implementing a sustainable supplier policy.

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of BCT, and we look forward to sharing news from across the organisation in this year’s Annual Report.