VCCC Alliance Precision Oncology Forum

Psychosocial and ethical considerations of precision medicine in paediatric oncology

22 August 2025

Psychosocial and ethical considerations of precision medicine in paediatric oncology

Increasingly genome or exome sequencing has been integrated into care pathways in paediatric oncology. Advances in precision oncology have also led to greater recognition of the importance of considering the psychosocial, ethical and practical implications of this rapidly developing field. In particular, understanding the perspectives and preferences of patients and families is vitally important in order to inform clinical practices and optimise families’ experiences.

A/Prof Maria McCarthy provides an overview of Australian research studies that have examined the psychosocial impact of paediatric precision oncology and discuss the clinical and ethical implications for healthcare providers.

Chairs

Dr Huiling Xu
Senior Research Fellow, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Joep Vissers
Curation Scientist Team Leader, the University of Melbourne

Speaker

A/ Prof Maria McCarthy PhD
Research Fellow, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Team Leader / Principal Research Fellow, Brain and Mind, Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI); Honorary Principal Research Fellow, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne; Mental Health Clinician, Royal Children's Hospital (RCH)

A/Prof McCarthy is a clinician and a researcher, managing her time between two very demanding roles. In her research role at MCRI, she manages a small team involved in a range of clinical trials, in particular quality of life and neurocognitive outcomes, and currently leads a number of trials including MET-MED, an ANZCHOG international trial. Her team is also part of a large National Institutes of Health (NIH) trial looking at impact of proton versus photon therapy for children.

In her clinical role at the RCH, she manages a team of 13 psycho-social staff providing psycho-oncology services to children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer. Outside her clinical role, she collaborates extensively with the Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS), sitting on several their committees. She also works with ANZCHOG as Chair of the Psycho-Oncology Group and recently was co-convenor of the ANZCHOG ASM. Internationally she is a member of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Psych-oncology committee.

Content warning: The VCCC Alliance Precision Oncology Forum is aimed primarily at a clinical audience and features open discussion about real cases and patients. While these cases are de-identified, the imagery, content and discussion can be graphic.