It announced a 15 million Australian dollar (10.7 million U.S. dollar) investment to help SA Pathology establish "an innovative cancer genomics laboratory," which aims to improve treatment options for Australians with cancer.
The new laboratory will use DNA technology to diagnose abnormalities driving cancer growth and deliver tailored treatments.
Announcing the funding on World Cancer Day, Health Minister Greg Hunt said it would improve the ability to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
"While survival rates in Australia are high by world standards, we still lost almost 50,000 people to cancer last year. This is why medical research is so important," he said in a media release on Friday, adding that genomics uses a person's own genetic makeup to analyze and understand their disease and unlock personalized treatments.
"By analyzing DNA to work out how to target and destroy cancer cells, we can get a better understanding of what medicine or treatment will work best for a patient," he added.
The latest statistics show over a million Australians are currently living with or have lived with cancer.
Hunt said as World Cancer Day is marked, it is also a timely reminder of the steps all Australians can take to minimize cancer risk factors including tobacco use, obesity and exposure to UV rays.
"This year, World Cancer Day is about understanding and recognizing inequities in cancer care across the globe," he said, noting, "Early detection and treatment gives people the best chance of survival."
With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, people living in rural and remote areas and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged regions more likely to die from cancer, "there is more work to be done" in Australia, said Hunt.
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