Australian scientists have made a major breakthrough that could transform the treatment of deadly brain cancers, developing a revolutionary new way to deliver cancer-killing drugs directly into the brain.

The world-first project aims to reach tumours that are notoriously difficult to treat, offering new hope for patients like 54-year-old Gian Sberna, who is defying the odds after being diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of an avocado five years ago.

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Surgery removed 95 per cent of his tumour, but the experience left him shaken.

“I just felt cheated. I wanted to watch my kids grow up to be adults,” Sberna said.

Brain cancer kills more Australians under 40 than any other cancer, with survival rates barely shifting in decades because it’s too hard to treat.

“There already have been really major changes in other types of cancer because the drugs can actually access the tissue, the organs where these cancers are located,” WEHI researcher Professor Guillaume Lessene said.

Gian Sberna. Credit: 7NEWS

Sberna’s tumour. Credit: 7NEWS

The challenge lies in the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from harmful substances but also blocks up to 98 per cent of cancer drugs from reaching tumours.

The researchers’ solution is a medical “Trojan horse” using the same pathway that carries iron into the brain to disguise cancer drugs and sneak them across the barrier, delivering the treatment directly to brain tumours.

The breakthrough will target aggressive brain cancers in adults and children, and is backed by Carrie Bickmore’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer charity.

“This is the result of years of collaboration, many of the greatest minds in our country working together,” Bickmore said.

However, the treatment won’t be available immediately. Researchers hope to have it ready for clinical trials with patients in about six to 10 years.

“This will be a game changer,” Bickmore said.