On Friday 17th October, Tour de Rocks handed over a $50,000 cheque for a Research Grant for Immune Profiling and Immunotherapy for High-Risk Paediatric Sarcomas. In conjunction with Optus and Tour de Cure we are proud to be associated with this Project.

The project aims to improve the treatment of children’s high-risk sarcomas. 

Sarcomas are a group of connective tissue tumours and can arise anywhere in the body, including bone or soft tissue, and account for about 10% of childhood cancers. This exciting new therapy will stimulate the patient’s own immune system to kill cancer cells using immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Kay Endres said "It is an honour to be able to present this cheque, on behalf of everyone involved in Tour de Rocks, for this Research Project. We are hopeful that the research that this funds, will help find a cure for Childrens Cancer. Despite not being able to ride this year, due to COVID 19, the research still goes on. We won't stop until a cure is found."

David Boundy, John Sewell and Scott Fittler (who were also part of the presentation) added "This is a very special day to be part of this presentation. Our focus now turns to the 2021 Ride and continuing to raise more funds for cancer research. So, if you haven't registered yet for the 2021 ride, ACT NOW. You don't want to miss out on what will be a very special event."

Here is a bit more about Dr Rachael Terry's Research Project : Immune Profiling and Immunotherapy for High-Risk Paediatric Sarcomas.

Children with high-risk sarcomas urgently need effective and targeted treatments. Aggressive chemotherapy is often the only option and <30% of children survive. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are exciting new immunotherapies that produce remarkable responses in adult cancers. Early promising results have been seen in paediatric sarcomas; however, it is challenging to predict which patients will respond to treatment. 

Recent studies indicate that ICIs are particularly effective in immune-inflamed “hot” tumours. However, there is very limited data to indicate which subsets of sarcomas are inflamed. Non-inflamed “cold” sarcomas may also benefit from ICI treatment if combined with other therapies that boost the anti-tumour immune response. However, this approach has not been explored. Here, we take advantage of our unprecedented access to a unique cohort of sarcoma patients, through our leadership of ZERO Childhood Cancer - the first personalised medicine initiative for high-risk paediatric cancers in Australia.

        **** 2021 Tour de Rocks Registrations 22nd – 24th April ****

Thanks to everyone who has transferred / registered for the 2021 Tour de Rocks. We have over 350 Rider and Supporter registrations already. Planning is full steam ahead and we can't wait for the event, which is going to be a very special one.

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We don't want you to miss out, so it is time to act now!!!!

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So, what does this mean for you? 
* Currently registered riders and supporters

* If you haven't responded to the email, please act now.

* All you need to do is follow the instructions in the email and we will do the rest for you.

* New riders and supporters

* Registrations are now open. Click on the link and register now.

* The ride will still be limited in numbers and you don’t want to miss this event!

* Raffle tickets and Fundraising

* We encourage everyone to continue to raise awareness in relation to cancer prevention through healthy living, assisting those battling the disease and raising funds for cancer research. The hard work of all the researchers continues. We need to beat this very cruel disease!

* Remember, you now have another 6 months to sell those raffle tickets. If you would like more raffle tickets, please let us know.

* The Raffle will now be drawn after the April 2021 ride.

* The GoFundraise site remains active, so don’t forget to setup your team / individual page and keep fundraising. 
 

These are challenging times and we appreciate everyone’s support and patience. We would also like to thank our awesome SPONSORS and Business Partners for your continued support. We all need to stick together, keep focused and look after each other.

Stay safe, healthy and keep up the training. We all look forward to seeing you in April 2021 for what will be a Bigger and Better event than ever before!

Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us!

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