Annual Report
2024
We are the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group.
Since 1991, we have been committed to improving outcomes for people with gastro–intestinal (GI) cancer. Our dedicated group of research and health professionals translate bold new ideas into life-saving clinical trials that help those patients as quickly as possible.
Recapping 2024
From our Chair,
Professor Lorraine Chantrill
“To the people with GI cancer who join our trials - we are grateful to you, and we are here for you."
In 2024, we lost recently retired AGITG CEO Russell Conley to anal and rectal cancer. His loss has been felt deeply throughout the GI cancer community, and by all the friends and connections he made during his 22 years at the AGITG.
Whether it was with researchers, industry colleagues or patient advocates, Russell’s passion and energy left a lasting impression on everyone he met, and helped to shape AGITG into the organisation that it is today.
Read more about Russell’s achievements in the In Memory section below.
While Russell underwent cancer treatment for two years, Joanne Cory assumed the role of Acting CEO. During this period of uncertainty, Joanne demonstrated strategic and thoughtful leadership, with her mantra of “continuous improvement” enabling positive change within the organisation.
The Board of Directors were pleased to formally appoint Joanne as CEO in December 2024. Joanne is leading AGITG through the next strategic planning period during early 2025, where she aims to prioritise building a thriving and sustainable future for the AGITG.
We welcomed communications expert Ebony Gaylor to our Board in 2024 and farewelled long-serving Directors Professor Tim Price and Professor Niall Tebbutt. We thank Professors Price and Tebbutt for their service to the organisation over many years – their wealth of experience and input has been invaluable in influencing our research and organisation for the better.
2024 saw the accomplishment of a key element from our current strategic plan with the launch of the AGITG Clinical Research Centre. The AGITG team and membership have been working tirelessly over the last three years to establish this in-house coordination centre, and I thank all those who have played a role in this achievement. Now, AGITG can provide central coordination services to support the conduct of trials sponsored by AGITG.
The first trial coordinated by the AGITG Clinical Research Centre, STOPNET, delivers on many of our strategic focus areas: collaboration, quality of life and equity of access. STOPNET is the first trial to come under the Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumour Research Collaborative (CommNETs), a group which brings together NETs researchers from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada.
STOPNET is investigating whether people who have neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) benefit from receiving ongoing monthly injections of somatostatin analogue (SSA) therapy after their disease has progressed. Removing these injections could improve patient quality of life by reducing toxicity, and could substantially reduce healthcare costs, allowing better resource allocation for Australians. STOPNET is available to people in regional and remote areas via the teletrial model. This means that, where possible, patients can have medical appointments at a hospital or clinic closer to their home, significantly reducing travel and accommodation costs. Patient travel support is also available.
As shown by STOPNET, our focus on our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion continued in 2024 and there is a growing awareness of AGITG’s work in this area. Our team were invited to present at the Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network Innovations Showcase and to the Regional Clinical trials Coordinating Centre (RCCC) to showcase how we embed equity in all aspects of our work, including our teletrial advocacy and implementation.
Read a detailed update on our EDI progress.
I would like to thank everyone who plays a role in delivering our research, from our members and staff to our donors and partners.
Ultimately, our research would not be possible without the people with GI cancer who join our trials. They might join a clinical trial for the chance at a new treatment, for the hope of a better outcome, or to make things better for the next person diagnosed with this awful disease.
We are grateful to you, and we are here for you.
Russell’s passing makes us sharpen our focus on patient-centred research. We are determined to keep people with lived experience at the heart of our purpose and continue to improve outcomes for people with GI cancer.
Chair
From our Chief Executive Officer,
Joanne Cory
“Thank you to all our incredible fundraisers – your funds support vital research and provide hope for people with GI cancer.”
2024 will forever be a defining year in the history of AGITG, with the retirement and passing of Russell Conley. I had the privilege of working with Russell for several years before his anal and rectal cancer diagnosis in 2022 and always admired his tenacity and commitment to our members and GI cancer community.
Acting as CEO on and off over the two years during Russell’s leave for medical treatment allowed me to support our awesome team who banded together during this uncertain period and always kept Russell top of mind. We will miss him.
Following Russell’s retirement, I was officially appointed to the role of CEO.
It is an exciting time at AGITG as our period of improvement and focus on quality continues. Our investment in research operations and fundraising capabilities was evident in 2024 with the addition of nine new staff. We are thrilled to have John, Bridget, Amy, Tiffany, Miriam, Breeda, Ingrid, Megan and Ali in our team.
We welcomed new faces to our Community Advisory Panel (CAP) – Brooklynn, John, Margaret and Stephen. Our CAP plays an instrumental role in our research, and we thank them for volunteering their time to provide insights from their lived experience with GI cancer.
In 2024, we introduced a paid parental leave policy. Our organisation is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive workplace that recognises and supports the magnitude of our employee’s life experiences. We want to attract the best talent, of course – but we launched this policy because it’s the right thing to do. As a group, we’re guided by our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement, and our policy is inclusive of all parents, regardless of their gender, parental role or how the child has come into their care.
It was fantastic to see such incredible support from our GI cancer community in 2024. We had an unprecedented amount of community fundraisers take on marathons, host gala dinners and black-tie balls, run golf days and more, to fundraise for new GI cancer research. Two trekking teams, led by dedicated members Professor Robert Ramsay and Associate Professor Haryana Dhillon, also took on our Gutsy Challenges in the Grampians and Blue Mountains respectively.
Thank you to all our incredible fundraisers – your funds support vital research and provide hope for people with GI cancer.
I look forward to leading our organisation through its next strategic planning phase in early 2025, and to continue working towards our goal of improving outcomes for people with GI cancer.
Chief Executive Officer
In memory of Russell Conley
With great sadness, we shared the news of Russell Conley’s passing in November 2024. This was a loss felt deeply across our team, membership and community.
Russell dedicated his life to improving outcomes for people with GI cancer, and he has left an indelible mark on this organisation and its mission.
Over 70 research studies were conducted during Russell’s 22 years at the helm of AGITG. These trials directly benefited more than 8,000 people with GI cancer. But the impact of these trials was felt by far more, with many of these trials resulting in significant practice-changing findings that transformed how people with GI cancer are now treated.
Always putting the patient first, Russell was crucial in the establishment of the Community Advisory Panel and ensured that the Committee’s contribution was valued by researchers. He also supported the launch of the Engage community event program to provide better education and support for patients and their families.
When Russell joined the AGITG back in 2002, there were fewer than 200 members. During his tenure, the membership flourished, welcoming new disciplines and becoming increasingly multidisciplinary. There are now more than 1,800 members involved in the Group.
One of Russell’s key strengths was developing relationships. He grew partnerships with many local patient advocacy organisations and with the 13 other Australian collaborative trials groups. Russell expanded the Group’s connections outside of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, into the US, UK, Europe and Asia, resulting in AGITG trials now being conducted at over 285 sites globally.
Russell willingly took on every opportunity to progress GI cancer research. He volunteered extensive time to attend and speak at community events, and more recently, played an active role in advocating for Australians with rare cancers. Russell openly shared his personal cancer journey to not only help others, but to help raise vital funds for new research. He even climbed mountains, taking on the Mt Kosciuszko Gutsy Challenge in 2021.
His memory now inspires and drives us forward, reinforcing why our work to advance GI cancer research must continue.
2024 reports
Everything we do is underpinned by our vision and mission.
Click on a story to continue
We invested in our capabilities, aiming for better impact together.
We invited engagement with us, sharing the knowledge we have and listening to learn what we don’t.
We worked with our communities, building momentum for change.
We developed our research, methods and processes to progress GI cancer treatments.
We invested in our capabilities, pursuing greater impact together.
We invited engagement with us, sharing the knowledge we have and listening to learn what we don’t.
We worked with our communities, building momentum for change.
We developed our research, methods and processes, progressing GI cancer treatments for those who need them.