By Melissa Blewitt

A $5 million investment to expand cancer research across regional NSW could strengthen research opportunities and help address the different challenges faced by patients living outside metropolitan areas.
Professor Nikola Bowden from the University of Newcastle has received the Cancer Institute NSW’s 2026 Translational Cancer Research Capacity Building Grant to expand the Regional Cancer Research Network NSW across regional, rural and remote communities.
The five-year investment will support regional research fellowships, PhD scholarships, co-funded research grants, travel awards, training and education opportunities.
The network brings together the University of Newcastle, Cancer Voices NSW, the University of Wollongong and six Local Health Districts, including Western NSW, alongside the Central Coast, Hunter New England, Mid North Coast, Northern NSW and Illawarra Shoalhaven districts.
For Condobolin residents, the expansion comes against a backdrop of ongoing efforts to improve access to cancer care across Western NSW.
NSW Health has previously identified Condobolin among the rural communities whose cancer patients have received specialised treatment at Orange and Dubbo, helping reduce the need to travel outside the Western NSW Local Health District for care.
Western NSW is also gaining access to newer cancer treatment technology, with Rapid Arc Dynamic radiation therapy introduced at Dubbo Health Service in July this year.
Western NSW Local Health District became the first public health provider in Australia to deliver the technology, which provides highly precise and personalised radiotherapy treatment. It is planned for clinical implementation at Orange in September.
The Western NSW Local Health District covers approximately 247,000 square kilometres and includes Condobolin among its public hospitals and health services.
The Regional Cancer Research Network was established in 2023 and has already supported regional cancer researchers and clinicians through research funding, fellowships, PhD scholarships, education and training.
According to the University of Newcastle, the network has supported eight Clinician Research Fellowships, 22 regional cancer research projects, two full-time PhD scholarships and travel awards since 2023. Eight supported projects have progressed into clinical implementation or clinical trials.
Professor Bowden said the expanded network would focus on developing the next generation of cancer researchers in regional NSW.
The network will also work with researchers, clinicians, health services and consumers to develop research addressing the priorities of regional communities.
The long-term aim is to build sustainable cancer research capacity across regional NSW and address research questions specific to regional communities.
For communities such as Condobolin, the expansion places Western NSW within a broader statewide research network while cancer treatment and research capacity continue to develop across the region.