PANACEA

(PANcreatic And Cancers of Early Age)

Leveraging translational research and health advocacy to provide pancreatic cancer and early-onset adult cancer patients a life underpinned by quality and respect.

Our Research

Resources

Group members

Our Research

Research projects

Exploring young-onset carcinogenesis
Exploring the origin of pancreatic cancer
Developing biomarkers for early pancreatic cancer detection
Quality improvement to develop and evaluate a holistic survivorship resource and referral pathway embedded in pancreatobiliary cancer clinical care

Young-onset pancreatic cancer
Early detection of pancreatic cancer
Holistic quality pancreatic cancer care

Featured publications:

Konduru L, Dahia S, Szabo C, Barreto SG. Evolving Dynamics of Colorectal Cancer in High Socio-demographic Regions. Cancer Control 2025; 32: 10732748251321672
Barreto SG, Strobel O, Salvia R, Marchegiani G, Wolfgang C, et al. Complexity and experience grading to guide patient selection for minimally-invasive pancreatoduodenectomy: An ISGPS Consensus. Ann Surg 2025; 281: 417-429.
Dahia S, Konduru L, Pandol S, Barreto SG. The burden of young-onset pancreatic cancer and its risk factors from 1990 to 2019: A systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study 2019. Pancreatology 2024; 24: 119-29
Myo Min K, Ffrench C, Shepherdson M, Jessup CF, Barreto SG, Bonder CS. Overcoming the Fibrotic Fortress in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Challenges and Opportunities. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15: 2354
Barreto SG, Pandol S. Young-onset carcinogenesis – The Potential Impact of Perinatal and early life Metabolic influences on the Epigenome. Front Oncol 2021; 11: 653289.

Resources

We work closely with:

Professor Claudine Bonder (University of South Australia)

Professor Stephen Pandol (Cedars-Sinai, USA)

Media Coverage

Time Magazine https://time.com/7213490/why-are-young-people-getting-cancer/
Nature News Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say
The Sydney Morning Herald Lifestyle and the ‘lag effect’: What’s causing the rise of early onset cancer

Group Members

Group lead

A/Prof. S. George Barreto

A/Prof. Barreto is a Gastrointestinal, HPB and Liver Transplant surgeon, academic and researcher.

Dr Jean Winter is the Biomarker Discovery & Application Lead at Bowel Health Services, specialising in gastrointestinal cancer screening, biomarker research, and novel treatment development, with a strong track record in cancer prevention and drug discovery.

Dr Katia Ferrar

Dr Katia Ferrar is the Flinders Foundation and Cancer Council Senior Research Fellow in Cancer Wellness, specialising in physical activity and chronic health conditions, with a strong focus on improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Dr. Laalithya Konduru

Dr Konduru is a public health and biomedical researcher at Flinders University, specialising in young-onset pancreatic cancer, COVID-19 mental health impacts, and targeted drug delivery, with a strong commitment to community healthcare and innovative, low-cost public health interventions.

Mr. Simran Dahia

Simran Dahia is a Data Officer at the College of Medicine and Public Health, specialising in machine learning frameworks for cancer burden forecasting and integrating advanced computational techniques to improve public health outcomes.