Overview
Background
Professor Obermair is the Director of Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer Research (QCGC Research). He is a Professor of Gynaecological Oncology since 2007, a Senior Medical Officer at Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital and a Visiting Medical Officer at St Andrews War Memorial Hospital and Buderim Private Hospital. He holds an Honorary title of Professor at UQ since 2006.
Professor Obermair is an internationally recognised leader in gynaecological oncology research and treatment and has lead the research team at QCGC Research since establishing it in 2003.
Availability
- Professor Andreas Obermair is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctoral Diploma of Medicine, International University Vienna
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Research interests
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Clinical Trials
Decisions on cancer management ideally are based on the results of high-level evidence, obtained through clinical trials whenever possible. As a principle, a new (proposed better) intervention should be compared to the current standard treatment before being made available generally. Outside a clinical trial new treatments should not become available until evidence has become available to demonstrate superiority over the current standard treatment. Retrospective studies harbour the risk that biases influenced outcomes. At QCGC Research we engage in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. In large phase trials, patients are allocated randomly to one of two or more interventions in order to minimise the risk of bias. Generally, patients treated within clinical trials have a better outcome compared to patients who are not treated in clinical trials. As the Director of Research Gynaecological Oncology I am currently involved in developing and managing clinical trials in gynaecological cancers.
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Translational Research
The focus of QCGC Research's translational research program is the application of new technology (molecular, biochemical, imaging and surgical) to prevention, detection and therapy for gynaecological cancers.
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Quality of Life Research
Cancer specialists are aware that not only the survival time but also the quality of life is a key factor in cancer treatment. This is especially important when two treatments are equally effective but cause different side-effects. My Quality-of-Life research focuses on ovarian, endometrial, cervical and vulval cancer. I wish to provide the best, most effective and modern treatment to my patients with least possible detriments to quality of life.
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Minimally Invasive Surgery
In Australia, around 30,000 hysterectomies are conducted annually to treat uterine cancer and various benign gynaecological conditions. While open abdominal surgery may be necessary in around 10% of cases, evidence shows that less-invasive approaches, such as total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) can achieve better outcomes for women at a lower overall cost to the health system. Yet, in Queensland, four of ten hysterectomies are still conducted by open abdominal surgery. Our own research has shown that many Australian surgeons are keen to adopt new techniques such as TLH, but that the lack of systematic training and mentoring opportunities is the main impediment to practice-change. Together with gynaecological surgical teams at hospitals and industry support we developed a prototype for system-level transformative practice change in gynaecological surgery.
Research impacts
Professor Obermair is an innovative and skilled gynaecologic oncologist, surgical teacher and consumer advocate. His international leadership and research impact was acknowledged in 2020 by the Australian community, when he was awarded an NHMRC Investigator Fellowship Level 2 (2021-25). The national impact of his research was recognised in 2017, when he was awarded Cancer Australia’s Jeannie Ferris Recognition Award (2017), for outstanding achievements in clinical practice and research. He is deeply engaged in consumer involvement and co-founded and serves on the Board of the Cherish Foundation, a consumer-focussed organisation that funds clinical research in better treatments for women with gynaecological cancers.
Works
Search Professor Andreas Obermair’s works on UQ eSpace
2019
Conference Publication
Incidence of adverse events in minimally invasive vs open radical hysterectomy in early cervical cancer: results of a randomized controlled trial
Obermair, Andreas, Asher, Rebecca, Pareja, Rene, Frumovitz, Michael, Lopez, Aldo, Moretti-Marques, Renato, Rendon, Gabriel, Ribeiro, Reitan, Tsunoda, Audrey, Behan, Vanessa, Buda, Alessandro, Bernadini, Marcus Q., Zhao, Hongqin, Vieira, Marcelo, Walker, Joan, Spirtos, Nick M., Yao, Shuzhong, Chetty, Naven, Zhu, Tao, Isla, David, Tamura, Mariano, Nicklin, James, Robledo, Kristy P., Gebski, Val, Coleman, Robert L., Salvo, Gloria and Ramirez, Pedro T. (2019). Incidence of adverse events in minimally invasive vs open radical hysterectomy in early cervical cancer: results of a randomized controlled trial. Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS), Kyoto, Japan, 14-16 September 2018. Philadelphia, PA, United States: Mosby. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.09.036
2019
Conference Publication
Weight perception and sociodemographic characteristics following endometrial cancer treatment
Janda, M., Gebski, V., Forder, P. and Obermair, A. (2019). Weight perception and sociodemographic characteristics following endometrial cancer treatment. 2019 IGCS Annual Global Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 – 21 September, 2019. London, United Kingdom: B M J Group. doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2019-IGCS.57
2019
Conference Publication
The implementation of a standardized surgical training program for specialist gynaecologists to decrease the rate of open, abdominal hysterectomy
Janda, M. and Obermair, A. (2019). The implementation of a standardized surgical training program for specialist gynaecologists to decrease the rate of open, abdominal hysterectomy. 2019 IGCS Annual Global Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 – 21 September, 2019. London, United Kingdom: BMJ Group. doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2019-IGCS.53
2018
Journal Article
Normative interlimb impedance ratios: implications for early diagnosis of uni- and bilateral, upper and lower limb lymphedema
Steele, Megan L., Janda, Monika, Vagenas, Dimitrios, Ward, Leigh C., Cornish, Bruce H., Box, Robyn, Gordon, Susan, Matthews, Melanie, Poppitt, Sally D., Plank, Lindsay D., Yip, Wilson, Rowan, Angela, Reul-Hirche, Hildegard, Obermair, Andreas and Hayes, Sandra C. (2018). Normative interlimb impedance ratios: implications for early diagnosis of uni- and bilateral, upper and lower limb lymphedema. Lymphatic Research and Biology, 16 (6), 559-566. doi: 10.1089/lrb.2017.0082
2018
Journal Article
Minimally Invasive versus Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy for Cervical Cancer
Ramirez, Pedro T., Frumovitz, Michael, Pareja, Rene, Lopez, Aldo, Vieira, Marcelo, Ribeiro, Reitan, Buda, Alessandro, Yan, Xiaojian, Yao Shuzhong,, Chetty, Naven, Isla, David, Tamura, Mariano, Zhu, Tao, Robledo, Kristy P., Gebski, Val, Asher, Rebecca, Behan, Vanessa, Nicklin, James L., Coleman, Robert L. and Obermair, Andreas (2018). Minimally Invasive versus Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy for Cervical Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 379 (20), 1895-1904. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1806395
2018
Conference Publication
Quality of life assessment in early-stage cervical cancer patients in undergoing radical hysterectomy via minimally invasive surgery or open approach: The LACC Trial
Frumovitz, M., Obermair, A., Pareja, R., Lopez, A., de Andrade Vieira, M., Ribeiro, R., Buda, A., Yan, X., Robledo, K., Asher, R., Gebski, V., Behan, V., Coleman, R. and Ramirez, P. (2018). Quality of life assessment in early-stage cervical cancer patients in undergoing radical hysterectomy via minimally invasive surgery or open approach: The LACC Trial. _, _, _. London, United Kingdom: BMJ Group.
2018
Conference Publication
Incidence of adverse events comparing abdominal vs. minimally invasive radical hysterectomy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer: LACC Trial
Obermair, A., Asher, R., Frumovitz, M., Pareja, R., Lopez, A., Viera, M., Ribeiro, R., Buda, A., Yan, X., Robledo, K. P., Gebski, V., Coleman, R. L. and Ramirez, P. T. (2018). Incidence of adverse events comparing abdominal vs. minimally invasive radical hysterectomy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer: LACC Trial. _, _, _. London, United Kingdom: BMJ Group.
2018
Journal Article
Challenges and controversies in the conservative management of uterine and ovarian cancer
Janda, M., McGrath, S. and Obermair, A. (2018). Challenges and controversies in the conservative management of uterine and ovarian cancer. Best Practice and Research: Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 55, 93-108. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2018.08.004
2018
Journal Article
Obesity in total laparoscopic hysterectomy for early stage endometrial cancer: health gain and inpatient resource use
Armfield, N. R., Janda, M. and Obermair, A. (2018). Obesity in total laparoscopic hysterectomy for early stage endometrial cancer: health gain and inpatient resource use. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 31 (4), 283-288. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzy162
2018
Journal Article
All-cause death in young women with endometrial cancer who receive progesterone therapy
Obermair, Andreas, Janda, Monika and Gebski, Val (2018). All-cause death in young women with endometrial cancer who receive progesterone therapy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 219 (1), 119-119. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.03.009
2018
Journal Article
Surgical approach to hysterectomy and barriers to using minimally invasive methods
Janda, Monika, Armfield, Nigel R., Kerr, Gayle, Kurz, Suzanne, Jackson, Graeme, Currie, Jason, Page, Katie, Weaver, Edward, Yazdani, Anusch and Obermair, Andreas (2018). Surgical approach to hysterectomy and barriers to using minimally invasive methods. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 58 (6), 690-695. doi: 10.1111/ajo.12824
2018
Journal Article
Endometrial cancer risk and survival by tumor MMR status
Nagle, Christina M., O'Mara, Tracy A., Tan, Yen, Buchanan, Daniel D., Obermair, Andreas, Blomfield, Penny, Quinn, Michael A., Webb, Penelope M., Spurdle, Amanda B. and Australian Endometrial Cancer Study Group (2018). Endometrial cancer risk and survival by tumor MMR status. Journal of Gynecologic Oncology, 29 (3) e39, e39. doi: 10.3802/jgo.2018.29.e39
2018
Journal Article
The association between diabetes, comorbidities, body mass index and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among women with endometrial cancer
Nagle, C. M., Crosbie, E. J., Brand, A., Obermair, A., Oehler, M. K., Quinn, M., Leung, Y., Spurdle, A. B., Webb, P. M. and Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study Group (2018). The association between diabetes, comorbidities, body mass index and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among women with endometrial cancer. Gynecologic Oncology, 150 (1), 99-105. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2018.04.006
2018
Journal Article
LAP-VEGaS practice guidelines for reporting of educational videos in laparoscopic surgery: a joint trainers and trainees consensus statement
Celentano, Valerio, Smart, Neil, McGrath, John, Cahill, Ronan A., Spinelli, Antonino, Obermair, Andreas, Hasegawa, Hirotoshi, Lal, Pawanindra, Almoudaris, Alex M., Hitchins, Charlotte R., Pellino, Gianluca, Browning, Matthew G., Ishida, Takashi, Luvisetto, Federico, Cingiloglu, Pinar, Gash, Katherine, Harries, Rhiannon, Harji, Deena, Di Candido, Francesca, Cassinotti, Elisa, McDermott, Frank D., Berry, James E. A., Battersby, Nick J., Platt, Esther, Campain, Nicholas J., Keeler, Barrie D., Boni, Luigi, Gupta, Sharmila, Griffith, John P. ... Coleman, Mark G. (2018). LAP-VEGaS practice guidelines for reporting of educational videos in laparoscopic surgery: a joint trainers and trainees consensus statement. Annals of Surgery, 268 (6), 1-926. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002725
2018
Journal Article
When will I feel normal again? Quality of life trajectories after first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
Webb, Penelope M, Beesley, Vanessa, Nagle, Christina, Grant, Peter T., deFazio, Anna, Obermair, Andreas and Friedlander, Michael (2018). When will I feel normal again? Quality of life trajectories after first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 36 (7_suppl), 172-172. doi: 10.1200/jco.2018.36.7_suppl.172
2018
Journal Article
MyD88 and TLR4 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer
Block, Matthew S., Vierkant, Robert A., Rambau, Peter F., Winham, Stacey J., Wagner, Philipp, Traficante, Nadia, Tołoczko, Aleksandra, Tiezzi, Daniel G., Taran, Florin Andrei, Sinn, Peter, Sieh, Weiva, Sharma, Raghwa, Rothstein, Joseph H., Ramón y Cajal, Teresa, Paz-Ares, Luis, Oszurek, Oleg, Orsulic, Sandra, Ness, Roberta B., Nelson, Gregg, Modugno, Francesmary, Menkiszak, Janusz, McGuire, Valerie, McCauley, Bryan M., Mack, Marie, Lubiński, Jan, Longacre, Teri A., Li, Zheng, Lester, Jenny, Kennedy, Catherine J. ... Goode, Ellen L. (2018). MyD88 and TLR4 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 93 (3), 307-320. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.10.023
2018
Journal Article
The Ovarian cancer Prognosis And Lifestyle (OPAL) study.
Webb, Penelope M, deFazio, Anna, Obermair, Andreas, Grant, Peter T., Friedlander, Michael, Beesley, Vanessa and Nagle, Christina (2018). The Ovarian cancer Prognosis And Lifestyle (OPAL) study.. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 36 (7_suppl), 88-88. doi: 10.1200/jco.2018.36.7_suppl.88
2018
Journal Article
Disease-Free and Survival Outcomes for Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Compared With Total Abdominal Hysterectomy in Early-Stage Endometrial Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis
Asher, Rebecca, Obermair, Andreas, Janda, Monika and Gebski, Val (2018). Disease-Free and Survival Outcomes for Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Compared With Total Abdominal Hysterectomy in Early-Stage Endometrial Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, 28 (3), 529-538. doi: 10.1097/IGC.0000000000001199
2018
Journal Article
The Prevalence, Incidence, and Quality-of-Life Impact of Lymphedema After Treatment for Vulvar or Vaginal Cancer
Gane, Elise M., Steele, Megan L., Janda, Monika, Ward, Leigh, Reul-Hirche, Hildegard, Carter, Jonathan, Quinn, Michael, Obermair, Andreas and Hayes, Sandra C. (2018). The Prevalence, Incidence, and Quality-of-Life Impact of Lymphedema After Treatment for Vulvar or Vaginal Cancer. Rehabilitation Oncology, 36 (1), 48-55. doi: 10.1097/01.REO.0000000000000102
2018
Journal Article
Pelvic floor functional outcomes after total abdominal versus total laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer
Higgs, Peta, Janda, Monika, Asher, Rebecca, Gebski, Val, Forder, Peta and Obermair, Andreas (2018). Pelvic floor functional outcomes after total abdominal versus total laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 218 (4) 419.e1-e14, 419.e1-419.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.12.233
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Andreas Obermair is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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feMMe: Uterus-preserving treatment of endometrial cancer
In 2020 we completed the feMMe, phase 2 cliniccal trial which established anticancer activity of levonorgestrel intrauterrine device (LNG-IUD) to treat endometrial cancer. The next two steps towards estabnlioshing this treatment for larger groups of patients include:
1. To determine factors that predict response to LNG-IUD
2. To determine long-term patient outcomes including survival, fertility, and patient needs.
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Improving Quality of Survival for Women with Gynaecological Cancer
- Focus on improving quality of life, health & function during & after gynaecological cancer treatment, with a focus on biomarker research, implementation research and cancer survivorship.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Advanced methods for biomarker informed endometrial cancer
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eva Baxter, Dr Zoe West, Professor Andrew Martin
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Master Philosophy
Patterns of care in endometrial cancer management in Queensland: a retrospective analysis.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eva Baxter
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Doctor Philosophy
Diet quality and composition in Australian women with endometrial cancer
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Monika Janda
Completed supervision
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Hereditary endometrial cancer: Improving identification and referral of patients with suspected Lynch syndrome
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Amanda Spurdle, Associate Professor Lisa Fitzgerald
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2008
Doctor Philosophy
Nutritional status of patients with gynaecological cancer -
Joint Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Cleghorn
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Media
Enquiries
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