Congratulations to Professor John Olynyk from the Curtin Medical School on securing more than $5 million in funding through the 2024 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants.

The funding will support a five-year Curtin-led clinical trial investigating whether a daily dose of aspirin can reduce the risk of developing Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) – a common and often fatal form of liver cancer – in people living with chronic liver disease.

HCC contributes to more than 90 per cent of liver cancer cases among people with cirrhosis, a type of chronic liver disease, and remains one of the leading causes of illness and death in this group. The project, ‘Can Aspirin reduce the risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) in subjects with cirrhosis: a multi-centre, placebo-controlled clinical trial’, has the potential to save lives while also providing major health and economic benefits for Australia.

Read more about the project in our media release.