Caring for patients with a rare cancer diagnosis can be challenging. Even for experienced cancer specialists, optimal care pathways for rare cancers are not well established. Across Australia, access to rare cancer expert advice is variable based on location, experience and access to peer networks.
Ultimately, improving the quality of care and outcomes of patients with a rare cancer diagnosis requires a collaborative approach in both clinical care and research efforts.
WHO WE ARE:
The Australian Rare Cancer (ARC) Portal is an online platform and clinical referral service providing a national approach to rare cancer care and research.
By referring your patient with a rare cancer (including patients with an uncommon or rare molecular variant of a common cancer), the ARC Portal acts a single point of contact to assist treating clinicians. There are a number of ways that the ARC portal can assist in patient management, including:
- Facilitating clinical advice from our network of national and international tumour stream experts
- Identification of research opportunities or clinical trial options
- Providing advice on molecular or germline testing or assistance in the interpretation of existing molecular reports
The ARC Portal also serves as a national platform to collate rare cancer clinical data and biospecimen sample accrual through its shared infrastructure with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) Stafford-Fox Rare Cancer Program, a research collaboration focused on understanding the biology of rare cancers.
The ARC Portal is administered by BioGrid Australia with funding via the Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Centre, now known as Omico. Our team is led by Prof. Clare Scott, Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, a leading expert in rare cancer research.
Find out more about our team here
WHY REFER:
Since the inception of the ARC Portal in 2020, we have been able to assist Medical Oncologists around Australia in facilitating:
- Expert consensus on rare and super-rare diagnoses and treatment
- Patient enrolment onto clinical trials and dedicated rare tumour research programs including the Stafford-Fox Rare Cancer Program
- Advocacy and access to non-funded therapeutic agents
Select REFER A PATIENT to register and refer to the ARC Portal.
Refer a patient
Register and refer a patient to the ARC portal to improve the quality of care and outcomes of patients with a rare cancer diagnosis
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