Posted: 7 November 2025
A new national clinical trial led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) has been launched to investigate a faster and less burdensome treatment for people with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. The five-year study has been supported with $1.49 million from the Medical Research Future Fund’s National Critical Research Infrastructure – Innovative Trials scheme.
The CONCISE trial will test whether a shorter course of radiation therapy – delivered daily over four weeks instead of the standard six—can maintain effectiveness while improving patients’ quality of life. The approach is expected to reduce treatment time by one-third.
“Treatment for brain cancer can be a challenging and exhausting journey – physically and emotionally,” said Dr Joseph Sia, clinician researcher at WEHI’s Brain Cancer Research Laboratory and neuro-radiation oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital. “We know time is precious for our patients, so if we can cut the days they spend in hospital and give them more time with those they love, this will make an enormous difference to their quality of life.”
Dr Sia will lead a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and scientists from across Australia, including experts in oncology, neurosurgery, neuro-imaging, health economics, and biostatistics. Key collaborators include Dr Lucy Gately, Dr Jim Whittle, and investigators from universities and hospitals in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Liverpool.
The nationwide Phase 3 randomised controlled trial will be embedded within the Brain Registry Australia: Innovation and TraNslation (BRAIN) platform and run in partnership with the Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro Oncology (COGNO). Recruitment of around 330 patients is expected to begin later this year.
WEHI’s Brain Cancer Research Laboratory is supported by The Brain Cancer Centre, founded by Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer with backing from the Victorian Government.
