Breast Endocrine Surgical Oncology Unit Director,
Adelaide Melanoma Unit
Royal Adelaide Hospital
CLINICAL INTERESTS
General and Laparoscopic Surgery; Surgical Oncology
Special Interests:
Melanoma Surgery
Breast Surgery and Breast Reconstruction
Salivary Gland Surgery
Complex Tumour Surgery
Specialised Techniques:
Selective (Sentinel ) Lymph Node Tracing and Biopsy
Isolated Limb Infusion Chemotherapy
Melanoma Vaccine Treatments
CURRENT INTERESTS
Tumour Immunology and Cancer Vaccine Treatments
Tumour Growth Regulation
Selective Lymph Node Biopsy and Lymphatic Tracing in Breast Cancer
and Melanoma
Surgical Complications and Risk Management
Clinical Skills Teaching
Novel Prognostic Markers of Cancers
Cancer Patient Support and the Internet
RESEARCH
Research positions are available in both clinical and laboratory areas
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
(A) My current research is focussed on improving the understanding
of the anti-tumour immune response in human malignancies.
Dendritic cells (DC) are proving central to anti-tumour responses and my
current research focuses on these cells. We have revealed a new type of
cell the CD1a restricted T cell which appears to be important in the
response against tumour non-peptide antigens.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH WORK HAS FOCUSSED ON
(B) Local immunosuppression in the tumour microenvironment (see
J.Immunol). This work has shown novel findings of disjunction of IL2 mRNA
and IL2 cytokine production as a possible mechanism for immunosuppression/
deactivation of lymphocytes.
(C ) Recent work has commenced on Calcitonin as an antiproliferative
agent and TRAIL expression in human tumours.
CLINICAL RESEARCH
Melanoma
1. NIH MULTICENTRE SELECTIVE LYMPHADENECTOMY TRIAL FOR MELANOMA
TREATMENT (MSLT) comparing wide excision vs wide excision plus selective
lymph node tracing and biopsy for the treatment of high risk melanoma (in
collaboration with Drs D Morton and A Cochran, St John's Hospital
and UCLA, Los Angeles (role as Principal Investigator)
2. NIH INTERNATIONAL MULTICENTRE MELANOMA POLYVALENT VACCINE (C-VAX)
THERAPY TRIALS 1998 - present In collaboration with Dr
Donald Morton, John Wayne Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, I was part of
the team which designed two trials testing a polyvalent, irradiated, whole
cell melanoma vaccine in multiple international centres, and am the Principal
Investigator at our centre.
A. STAGE III MELAMOMA C-VAX TRIAL
B. STAGE IV MELAMOMA C-VAX TRIAL
3. MULTICENTRE NATIONAL COLLABORATIVE MELANOMA PEPTIDE VACCINE
TRIAL for the treatment of advanced melanoma (in collaboration with
Prof P Hersey, Newcastle and Sydney Melanoma Units)(role as Principal Investigator)
4. RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL OF SURGERY VERSUS SURGERY PLUS
ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY FOR REGIONAL CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH COMPLETELY
RESECTED MACROSCOPIC NODAL METASTATIC MALIGNANT MELANOMA. An Intergroup
Australian and New Zealand Multicentre Study by the Trans-Tasman
Radiation Oncology Group and Australian and New Zealand Melanoma Trials
Group [Member, Trial Management Committee]
5. VACCINIA MELANOMA CELL LYSATE VACCINE (VMCL) TRIAL FOR TREATMENT
OF ADVANCED STAGE IV MELANOMA WITH AND WITHOUT CHEMOTHERAPY in collaboration
with Professor Peter Hersey (University of Newcastle, NSW)
6. HEAT-SHOCK PROTEIN MELANOMA VACCINE VS STANDARD DTIC CHEMOTHERAPY
TRIAL FOR ADVANCED METASTATIC MELANOMA in collaboration with Antigenics
Corporation Boston, USA.
Breast Cancer
1. NSABP Multicentre trials - studies VIII & IX (in
collaboration with Drs I Olver, D Keefe, P Gill, P Malycha)
2. Coping Strategies in Women with Breast Cancer (in collaboration
with A/Prof H Winefield (psychology)
3. Arimidex, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination (ATAC) International
Multicentre Trial (with Drs P Gill, J Kollias, M.Bochner, P Malycha)
4. Sentinel Node vs Axillary Clearance (SNAC) National Breast
Cancer Trial with Drs J Kollias, G Gill, M .Bochner, P Malycha
WEBSITE PRODUCTION
BREAST CANCER - Website -
http://www.wings.adelaide.edu.au Construction, content and design
- a website was constructed for information, support and communication
as a resource for women with Breast Cancer collaboratively with Dr H Winefield
(Psychology/Psychiatry) and Dr M Pradhan (Medical Informatics).
MELANOMA - Website - http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/cancer/melanoma
Construction,
content and design - a website was constructed for information, support
and communication as a resource for people with Melanoma collaboratively
with information from the Melanoma Support Group SA.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Coventry BJ, Chatterton B, Whitehead F, James C, Gill PG. Sentinel lymph
node dissection and lymphatic mapping for local subcutaneous recurrence
in melanoma treatment: longer-term follow-up results. Ann Surg Oncol.
Mar-Apr;11(3 Suppl):203S-7S, 2004.
Coventry BJ, Heinzel S Reply: Is CD1a involved in antitumour immune
responses during carcinogenesis?. Brit J Cancer Br J Cancer. Feb
23;90(4):939, 2004.
Coventry B, Heinzel S. CD1a in Human Cancers: a new role for an old
molecule. Trends Immunol. 2004 May;25(5):242-248. (Major International
Review)
Winefield HR, Coventry BJ, Harvey E, Lambert V, Setting up a health
education website: Practical advice for health professionals. Patient
Education and Counselling. May 53: 175-182 2004
Morton DL, Cochran AJ, Thompson JF, Elashoff R, Essner R, Glass EC, Mozzillo N, Nieweg OE, Roses DF, Hoekstra HJ, Karakousis CP, Reintgen DS, Coventry BJ, Wang HJ. Sentinel node biopsy for early-stage melanoma - Accuracy and morbidity in MSLT-I, an international multicenter trial. Annals of Surgery 2005; 242: 302-313
Hersey P, Menzies SW, Coventry BJ, Nguyen T, Farrelly M, Collins S, Hirst D, Johnson H. Phase I/II study of immunotherapy with T-cell peptide epitopes in patients with stage IV melanoma. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy 2005; 54: 208-218.
Koczwara B, Tattersall MH, Barton MB, Coventry BJ, Dewar JM, Miller JL, Olver IN, Schwarz MA, Starmer DL, Turner DR, Stockler MR. Achieving equal standards in medical student education: is a national exit examination the answer? Medical Journal of Australia 2005; 182: 228-230.
Morton DL, Thompson JF, Cochran AJ, Mozzillo N, Elashoff R, Essner R, Nieweg OE, Roses DF, Hoekstra HJ, Karakousis CP, Reintgen DS, Coventry BJ, Glass ED, Wang HJ. Sentinel-Node biopsy or nodal observation in melanoma. New England Journal of Medicine 2006; 355: 1307-1317 .
Thai LM, Labrinidis A, Hay S, Liapis V, Bouralexis S, Welldon K, Coventry BJ, Findlay DM, Evdokiou A. Apo21 Tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing Ligand prevents breast cancer-induced bone destruction in a mouse model. Cancer Research 2006; 66: 5363-5370.
Tsopelas C, Bevington E, Kollias J, Shibli S, Farshid G, Coventry B, Chatterton BE. 99mTc-Evans blue dye for mapping contiguous lymph node sequences and discriminating the sentinel lymph node in an ovine model. Annals of Surgical Oncology 2006; 13: 692-700. PAPERS IN PRESS
Winefield HR, Coventry BJ, Pradhan M, Harvey E, Lambert V, Poorer mental
health in breast cancer patients who seek support from the internet. J
Health Psychology (in Press).
Grimbaldeston MA, Pearce AL, Robertson BO, Coventry BJ, Marshman G,
Finlay-Jones JJ and Hart PH, Risk of melanoma and mast cell prevalence
in human non-sun-exposed skin. Br J Dermatol. (in Press).
Coventry B, Heinzel S. Dysfunctional DC Subgroups in Human Cancers.
Trends
Immunol. 2004 August. (in Press)
BOOKS, INVITED BOOK CHAPTERS and BOOKLETS
BJ Coventry, EE Hillenbrand (1997) NL22 Non-Lineage antigens
Blind Panel: Immunocytochemical Analysis Report (Chapter) 6th International
Leucocyte Typing Workshop, Kobe, Japan. Kishimoto T etal (Eds)
Leukocyte Typing VI, Garland Press Ltd, New York, 1998, pp 566-571,
invited chapter.
Barton MB; Coventry BJ; Donald K; Simons R; Thode R (Editors and Executive
Committee) and the Oncology Education Committee of the Australian Cancer
Society.
Ideal Oncology Curriculum for Medical Schools Australian Cancer Society,
Sydney, 1999.
Coventry BJ Ed. Melanoma - Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment.
Adelaide University, 2001 [ISBN 0-957-84390-9].
Suthers G, Haan E and Coventry BJ. Genetics and Melanoma, The Gene
Pool. The Cancer Genetics Newsletter, November 2001. (Booklet)
Coventry BJ Chapter 11: Skin Lesions in Devitt PG; Barker J. Clinical
Problems in General Medicine and Surgery, Harcourt Brace , London,
2003
Thompson JF; Uren R; Coventry BJ; Chatterton B. Lymphoscintigraphy
in Balch. CM; Houghton AN; Sober AJ; Soong S 4th Ed Cutaneous
Melanoma Quality Medical Publishing, St Louis MO 2003
Coventry BJ, Jamieson GG. Mastectomy; Microdocectomy: the Anatomy
of the Breast - Chapter 27 in Anatomy of General Surgery Operations
Jamieson GG Ed 2E Churchill Livingston, London, 2005
Coventry BJ, Jamieson GG, Katasaros J. Block Dissection of the Groin:
the Anatomy of the Femoral Triangle and Lymph Nodes - Chapter 30 in
Anatomy of General Surgery Operations Jamieson GG Ed 2E Churchill Livingston,
London, 2005
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Discovery Channel Documentary - "Unsolved History: Aztec Temple of Blood".
RECENT GRANTS
National Breast Cancer Foundation and Australia Post
Research Grant (1998) "Online Peer Psychological Support for Rural Women with
Breast Cancer, using the Internet" Chief Investigators HR Winefield, Coventry
BJ & Pradhan M, with Associates V Lambert, G Gill, and M Lewis
Australian Research Council 1999 "Psychosocial Characteristics
of Women with Breast Cancer who Choose or Decline to Join a Support Group".
Chief Investigators HR Winefield, Coventry BJ and Lewis M
NIH International Multicentre Selective Lymphadenectomy
Trial for high risk Melanoma 1994 -comparing wide excision vs wide excision
plus selective lymph node tracing and biopsy for the treatment - in collaboration
with Drs D Morton and A Cochran, St John's Hospital and UCLA,
Los Angeles, (NIH Funded - Contract Research). (Coventry BJ site
Principal Investigator)
Two NIH International Multicentre Polyvalent (C-VAX)
Melanoma Cell Trials 1998 for Stage III Metastatic Melanoma - in collaboration
with Drs D Morton and A Cochran, St John's Hospital and UCLA, Los
Angeles, USA. (Coventry BJ site Principal Investigator)
Cancer Council of South Australia 2003-2004 "A Novel
Non-toxic Approach to Bone Cancer Therapy" Chief Investigators
Evdokiou A; Findlay DM; Coventry BJ
University of Adelaide B3 Funding 2003-2004. "A Novel
Non-toxic Approach to Bone Cancer Therapy". Chief Investigators Evdokiou
A; Findlay DM; Coventry BJ
Antigenics Corporation, Boston, Contract Research 2003-2004. Heat
Shock Protein Vaccine in Melanoma Treatment. Coventry BJ site Principal
Investigator
Royal Adelaide Hospital Hanson Institute Research Fund 2004-2005. The
role of CD1a in Melanoma Vaccine Treatments. Coventry BJ |
