Research Horizons

Genetic testing often overlooked for women at high risk of developing cancer

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:54:25 -0400

Read a CTV News article on new research focused on women who are at high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

A simple blood test detects cancer cells that spread and grow

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 15:18:51 -0400

Could a simple blood test tell you if your cancer will spread? CCS-funded researcher Dr Shana Kelley is developing a new blood test for cancer and recently published a new way to find and study cancer cells in the blood.

Cancer cells can be found in blood

Cancer is much easier to treat when it is discovered early, before it has had a chance to spread to other sites in the body. To catch cancers sooner, we need to develop new tests to diagnose and monitor the disease.

Researchers are studying whether liquid biopsies, or blood tests, could be simple, non-invasive alternatives to traditional tests for cancer. These blood tests look for cells in the bloodstream that have been released from cancerous tumours. These cells are called circulating tumour cells (CTCs). CTCs provide a telltale sign that cancer is present, and they could even be the cause of cancer spread (metastasis).

The challenge of using CTCs to study cancer is that they are very rare in the bloodstream. In fact, normal cells outnumber cancer cells 1 billion to 1 – it is like finding a needle in a haystack!

Blood test detects cancer cells

Previous technologies have only been able to count CTCs in the blood without considering any of their individual properties. Much like the cancer cells in tumours, CTCs have different properties that make them more or less aggressive and determine whether or not they will be able to spread in the body and form new tumours.

Dr Kelley and her team at the University of Toronto, developed a new technology that isolates and counts CTCs, as well as determines their individual features, or markers.

They were able to capture CTCs from blood samples using magnetic nanoparticles – 1,000 times smaller than a red blood cell – that bind specifically to protein markers on the surface of CTCs. They also grouped the CTCs depending on how much of the protein marker was on the cell surface. They are now trying to use these groups of cells to figure out how likely these tumour cells are to spread and grow in the body.

Blood test will help guide cancer treatment

The researchers developed this new method by using both mouse models of cancer and studying blood samples collected from prostate cancer patients, with both approaches showing that the technology could play an important role in the clinic.

Researchers will be able to use liquid biopsies to find and study CTCs to uncover new ways to diagnose and treat cancer as well as monitor disease progression and predict the aggressiveness of a cancer. All of this information will help cancer biologists and doctors understand how to use these cells to better treat patients.

Katherine Wright, PhD

Will immunotherapy transform cancer care?

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:21:55 -0500

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that trains and uses a patient’s immune system to target cancer. In 2013, the prestigious scientific journal Science declared immunotherapy to be the “Breakthrough of the Year”. But will it dramatically change the way cancer is treated? Please read this Ottawa Citizen article to find out what cancer researchers say on this topic.

Read article

Harnessing the full power of the immune system to fight cancer

Wed, 17 May 2017 16:47:21 -0400

There is great excitement around cancer immunotherapy, a new type of treatment that trains our immune system to fight cancer. American researchers recently discovered an innovative way to use our immune system to target cancer cells.

The body has two types of immunity. Much of the research around immunotherapy has focused on acquired immunity, the protection the body develops when it is exposed to certain germs, such as bacteria and viruses.

The other type is called innate immunity. Present at birth, this is our built-in protection to defend our body from disease. Innate immune cells can be thought of as the body’s “first responders”. If an infection or disease is like a bank robbery, our innate immunity would be like the security guards already on site who would do their best to stop the crime.

The next to respond to the bank heist would be police officers specially trained to handle this type of situation. Similarly, acquired immunity is much more precise at defending our body against disease.

Most current immunotherapies are designed to boost acquired immunity. This allows certain immune cells, such as T cells, to identify and attack cancerous tumours without harming healthy tissues. Less attention has been given to using innate immunity to target cancer.

In a new study published in Cancer Discovery, American researchers have discovered a novel way of unleashing our innate immunity to fight cancer. They found for the first time that a drug called cabozantinib, which has been approved in the US to treat thyroid and kidney cancers, can trigger an innate immune response to shrink tumours.

In this study, the drug was given to mice with an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of prostate cancer. Within a few days, a dramatic response was observed in the mice. The tumours were almost completely wiped out.

The researchers discovered that the drug caused cancer cells to release chemicals that caused immune cells called neutrophils to invade the tumour. Neutrophils are the first step of an innate immune response – the true first responders.

These neutrophils eat and digest cells. It was the ability of the drug to trigger an innate immune response that led to the tumour disappearing.

Although immunotherapy is promising and has worked for some patients, many patients still fail to respond to these therapies. Cancer cells and the surrounding normal cells can suppress the immune system, protecting the tumour from being targeted.

To combat these current challenges, the researchers suggest harnessing the power of both types of our immunity, as a more efficient way to combat cancer. This approach was recently tested in another research study, which found that activating both innate and acquired immunity successfully treated large, aggressive tumours in mice.

A clinical trial to test cabozantinib alongside T-cell checkpoint immunotherapy is planned. By activating both types of immunity, the hope is that this approach can provide new treatment options for patients.

This research area is still in its infancy, but is broadening our knowledge on new and innovative ways to treat cancer.

Kelly Fathers, PhD

More skin cancer survivors need to practice sun safety

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 11:53:39 -0400

It is that time of the year when Canadian “snowbirds” flock down south for warmer weather and sunshine. Hopefully, they will remember to pack their sunscreen and sunglasses alongside their swimsuits and practice sun safety.

A recent study of melanoma skin cancer survivors found that although many are diligent when it comes to being safe in the sun, some are not.

Melanoma, which is the deadliest type of skin cancer, is on the rise in Canada. Fortunately, skin cancer, including melanoma, is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Exposure to UV radiation from the sun or other sources, such as indoor tanning beds, is the main risk factor for developing melanoma.

Patients diagnosed with melanoma have a strong chance of having their cancer return. According to a previous study, there is a nine-fold increased risk of patients developing melanoma a second time, even 20 years after their first diagnosis.

The reason for this is the fact that skin damage resulting from UV exposure cannot be undone as skin damage accumulates over one’s lifetime. The best way to prevent a second case of melanoma is to reduce UV exposure.

There are many ways people can protect themselves. This includes staying out of the sun during the peak of the day, seeking shade whenever possible, wearing sunscreen and protective clothing, such as sunglasses and broad-brimmed hats, as well as avoiding indoor tanning.

Up until now, little research has documented the sun exposure and protection behaviours of melanoma survivors. A new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, compared UV exposure and protection behaviours of 724 melanoma survivors and 660 people who never had the disease.

Overall, long-term melanoma survivors reported better sun safety practices than the control group who never had melanoma. For instance, they more frequently wore sunscreen, stayed in the shade and had fewer sunburns.

However, many survivors reported less than ideal sun safety behaviours with 20 per cent reporting that they received sunburns in the last year. Sunburns are a sign of excessive time in the sun. They also increase a person’s risk of developing melanoma.

Like all studies, this research has limitations that should be critically considered. For example, since participants provided information through a survey, it is possible that some people may have over-estimated their sun safety behaviour.

In addition, the researchers were unable to directly compare UV exposure and sun safety behaviour before and after the cancer diagnosis. This information could have told us whether survivors change their behaviour after having melanoma.

Although many melanoma survivors are more likely to practice sun safety than people who never had the disease, some do not. This research highlights a strong need to further improve sun safety behaviours to reduce the chances of future cases of melanoma in this vulnerable population.

Kelly Fathers, PhD

Taking medicine personally

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:47 -0500

Would you prefer to buy a suit from the rack or instead a suit tailored to every inch of your body? We are starting to recognize that everybody affected by an illness is different and identifying these individualities can help clinicians provide a personalized treatment.

Toronto R.I.O.T.

The genetic chaos of cancer cells

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:02:56 -0500

In this video, new research explains how tumours are able to grow despite significant damage to the cell’s chromosomes.

Tackling the challenge of overtreatment as cancers are detected earlier

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 09:35:12 -0400

Read an article from the National Post that discusses the concerns about overtreating people with cancer as more tumours are detected and diagnosed early, when aggressive therapies may not be necessary.

National Post

How can antibodies fight cancer?

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 09:15:17 -0400

This Nature video uses an engaging analogy to explain how monoclonal antibodies and the immune system can work together to fight cancer and prevent tumours from escaping immune attack.

Could smartphones be used to detect skin cancer?

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:32:55 -0400

Could smartphones be used to detect skin cancer?

Possibly. A recent study in the journal Nature found that computers programmed with image recognition technology could diagnose skin cancer just as accurately as skilled skin cancer doctors looking at the same images.

Training a computer to look for skin cancer

These doctors, known as dermatologists, are trained to look for signs of skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. They often use the ABCDE system to assess features on skin to distinguish between a regular mole and a cancerous mole.

Stanford University researchers “trained” a computer to diagnose skin cancer by classifying digital images of skin lesions. They provided the computer with nearly 130,000 labelled images of skin lesions. These images covered more than 2,000 skin diseases. The more images they provided to the computer, the better it got at making a diagnosis.

Diagnosing skin cancer using artificial intelligence

The researchers then tested how precise the computer was at identifying skin cancer. They gave the computer previously unseen skin lesion images and asked whether the lesions needed further medical attention. They showed the same set of images to a group of skilled dermatologists.

The computer did as well or better than the doctors in accurately distinguishing between cancerous and non-cancerous skin lesions.

In fairness to the doctors, the researchers did not test whether the doctors were better at diagnosing skin disease using traditional physical skin exams instead of only digital images.

This study isn’t the only example of using artificial intelligence in making medical decisions for cancer. A hospital in Florida is using the IBM super computer Watson, best known for beating Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings, to interpret clinical information of cancer patients to identify the best treatment options.

Studying the possibility of the technology

Before you start searching for the smartphone app, more research needs to be done before it can be made more widely available. Can the computer distinguish between similar-looking skin diseases? Would it be helpful with decision-making in the clinic? How would it fare when faced with the full spectrum of skin lesions seen in the clinic?

Yet, the possibilities of this current study are profound. It offers an effective, cheap and easy way for doctors and patients to track skin lesions and detect cancer earlier. This is extremely important, since the survival rate for melanoma is less than 20% when it spreads to other organs or distant skin areas. The potential for this research and its implications on the future of early cancer detection are tremendous.

Kelly Fathers, PhD

Immunotherapy shows promise for mesothelioma

Fri, 19 May 2017 15:58:23 -0400

According to a recent clinical trial, exploiting the immune system to fight cancer offers some benefit for people living with the most common form of mesothelioma. The study found that patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma lived longer after receiving an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab (brand name: Keytruda).

Mesothelioma is cancer of the mesothelium, a membrane that covers and protects most of your internal organs. Malignant pleural mesothelioma, which accounts for 70-80% of all mesothelioma cases, occurs in the pleura, which covers the lungs and lining of the chest.

The main risk factor for developing mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos in the workplace. Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring minerals that have been used in many commercial applications, including insulation and vinyl floor tiles. It is known to cause cancer.

A recent study funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and led by the Occupational Cancer Research Centre estimated that asbestos causes over 2,300 cancers every year in Canada, including 430 mesothelioma cases.

This information was used by several groups, including the Canadian Cancer Society, to advocate for a nationwide ban on asbestos, resulting in a commitment from the federal government to ban the manufacture, use, import and export of asbestos in Canada by 2018. In the future, this ban will prevent cancer and save lives.

For patients living with advanced pleura mesothelioma now, treatment options are limited. The first line of therapy is chemotherapy, and unfortunately most patients live less than a year after their diagnosis. Thus, there is a critical need to develop new treatment options for this very hard-to-treat cancer.

A recent clinical trial published in The Lancet Oncology offers hope for a potential new treatment for this type of cancer. Researchers looked at the safety and activity of pembrolizumab in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. They found that the drug shrank some of these tumours and patients lived longer than usual.

Pembrolizumab is a checkpoint inhibitor which unleashes the body’s immune system to target cancer. It is currently used to treat melanoma skin cancer and one form of lung cancer. Pembrolizumab prevents cancer cells from hiding from the immune system. This allows certain immune cells, called T cells, to target and kill cancer cells more efficiently.

This small Phase I clinical trial provided the drug to 25 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patients were then monitored for side effects and response to treatment. Approximately half of the patients had their tumours reduce in size. Overall, patients survived approximately 18 months with four still living after two years.

The most common side effects of this treatment included fatigue, nausea, decreased appetite and dry mouth.

With a disease in which most patients live less than a year, these results are encouraging. However, research is needed in more patients to confirm the treatment’s effectiveness, and it is likely not a cure. The results from this study provide a step forward in advancing treatment for a disease for which there are limited therapies available.

More research needs to be done to make immunotherapy a more effective treatment option. There are currently Phase II clinical trials ongoing to further test the therapeutic benefits of pembrolizumab on mesothelioma, including one led by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.

With further research, we will learn whether this type of immunotherapy could become a much-needed treatment option for mesothelioma patients.

Kelly Fathers, PhD

Boosting the immune system to target cancer

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:07:29 -0500

In this video, the different ways researchers are trying to boost the immune system to target cancer are explained.

HPV status can influence how cervical cancer is treated

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 15:14:27 -0400

Thanks to 2 recent studies, we now have more insight into how human papillomavirus (HPV) status can influence cervical cancer development. The findings from these 2 studies have direct implications for how cervical cancers are treated, and may result in a whole new way of treating this disease.

What is HPV?

HPV is a group of more than 100 different types of viruses, some of which can cause cancer.

Most HPV infections are cleared within months, but sometimes they can persist and lead to cervical cancer. Virtually all cervical cancer cases are caused by persistent HPV infections.

Effective HPV vaccines have been around for more than 10 years to prevent infection of the most common types of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer.

However, many women who will develop cervical cancer in the next few decades may not have received the vaccine and, as a result, may not be fully protected against HPV.

How does HPV cause cervical cancer?

HPV causes cervical cancer by expressing viral cancer-causing genes, E6 and E7, that “turn off” key genes in a cell in the cervix. This can lead to increased mutations within the cell and ultimately cancer.

Therapeutic vaccines are currently being tested to treat existing HPV infections and HPV-associated cancers. But 5–8% of cervical cancers are HPV-independent – these cancers do not contain HPV or do not “turn on” HPV cancer-causing genes.

Cervical cancer that is detected early can be treated with surgery and radiation, but there are no effective treatments when this cancer has spread to multiple sites of the body. We need new treatments for advanced cervical cancer.

Some cervical cancers are not caused by HPV

One recent study published in the journal Oncotarget found that HPV in some cervical cancers no longer expresses the cancer-causing genes E6 and E7, or they do so at extremely low levels. Instead, these tumours accumulate different genetic changes that drive tumour growth. In other words, they do not rely on HPV to be cancerous.

A second study, recently published in Nature, also confirmed the presence of HPV-independent tumours. These tumours more closely resemble endometrial cancer than HPV-positive cervical cancer.

Within these HPV-independent tumours, both studies identified mutations in the same set of genes commonly associated with endometrial cancer. Some of these genes could become potential new targets for treating HPV-independent cervical cancer.

Both studies also looked at the genetic make-up of HPV-dependent cervical cancers. They found that these cancers contain multiple copies of key genes that help the cancer cells hide from the immune system. Immunotherapy could become a good treatment option for women with this type of cervical cancer.

These findings highlight the need for different targeted therapies for cervical cancer depending on whether the tumours depend on HPV to grow.

Cervical treatments may be based on HPV status

Researchers still need to answer important questions before these current findings can truly have an impact at the clinic level:

How common are HPV-independent cervical cancer tumours?
Do HPV-dependent and HPV-independent tumours respond differently to targeted therapy?
Will doctors need to test whether tumours are dependent on HPV to determine the best treatment for patients?

Identifying and studying HPV-independent cervical cancers will help us understand this disease better and improve treatments for women with this type of cancer.

Kelly Fathers, PhD

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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:46 -0500

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Global smoking rates have dropped 2.5% in 10 years, but more work needs to be done

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 13:45:34 -0400

An international tobacco treaty has helped to reduce smoking rates by 2.5% worldwide over 10 years. However, more work needs to be done.

Read article

New genetic markers help guide treatment of early stage prostate cancer

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:29:12 -0400

Not all prostate cancers are alike – so why are most men with the disease treated the same way? New research explains why men respond differently to prostate cancer treatment and may lead to personalized treatments that target aggressive tumours.

More than 21,000 men in Canada were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016. With a 5-year survival rate of 95%, most cases are considered potentially curable. Yet 4,000 men still died from the disease that year.

At diagnosis, most men with prostate cancer have localized disease, meaning their cancer has not spread. If a cancer is caught before it can spread to other areas of the body, doctors think it may be curable. But not all men response to treatment in the same way, and currently there is no way to predict whether standard treatments will prevent the disease from spreading.

Genetics affect prostate cancer treatment response

Researchers at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research have now identified a set of genetic changes that explain why a third of men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer do not respond to treatment with surgery or radiation.

To find these genetic markers, researchers studied the genes of nearly 500 localized prostate tumours from Canadian men. These men had been treated with either radiation therapy or surgery to remove the tumour. The researchers studied the genes to see if they could find a difference between men who responded well to treatment compared to those who did not.

Researchers found that localized prostate tumours, despite looking similar in the clinic, actually had a number of differences in which genes were being turned on, creating genetic signatures that varied between men.

Doctors could use genetics to personalize treatment

Identifying these genetic changes could help doctors predict how an individual will respond to treatment at an early stage, allowing for personalization of treatment. Men whose prostate tumours are likely to spread could then be treated more aggressively, perhaps with chemotherapy or hormone therapy in addition to radiation or surgery.

Researchers hope that understanding these genetic changes will help to push cure rates even higher. In order to use these markers in the clinic, the researchers will need to study more patients, including patients diagnosed at a younger age than usual and those from different ethnic backgrounds, to confirm that their results can be generally applied.

They are also interested in looking into how these genetic changes are driving cancer growth and spread. If they can understand why certain aggressive cancers have these markers, new drugs or treatments may be developed to target aggressive cancers and treat specific patients.

Local and aggressive prostate cancers have different genetics

Researchers were surprised to find that the genetic changes they found in the localized prostate cancers were quite different than the genetic changes found in tumours that had already undergone treatment and aggressively grown and spread.

The localized cancers mostly showed rearrangements of genes or genetic markers that change the way genes are turned on. On the other hand, researchers believe that in aggressive cancers, cancer cells are put under pressure during treatment and the cells that survive adapt and grow better due to mutations in other genes.

The results of this study have helped researchers understand the genetic factors that lead to prostate cancer growth and spread after treatment. With this knowledge, doctors will be better able to identify men who would benefit from more personalized prostate cancer treatment.

Katherine Wright, PhD

Checkpoint inhibitors: Taking the Brakes off the Immune System

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 10:40:27 -0500

This video is part of the Cancer Research Institute’s series “Immunotherapy: 5 Ways to Stop Cancer.” Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a type of treatment or drug that allow the immune system to mount an attack on cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors are a promising avenue for treating cancer, already in use in the clinic for some cancers.

Getting cancer patients to quit smoking: the bottom line

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:09:29 -0400

Are tobacco cessation programs for cancer patients an overlooked opportunity? In the wake of World No Tobacco Day (May 31), learn more about the research evidence in an article sponsored by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

iPolitics

Using genetic clues to guide cancer treatment

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 18:02:35 -0400

The goal for cancer treatment is a personalized experience, with a therapy designed specifically for each patient’s cancer. Although our ability to treat every patient like this is still a long way off, a pair of studies by Toronto oncologists at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have brought us one step closer.

These studies – called IMPACT (Integrated Molecular Profiling in Advanced Cancers Trial) and COMPACT (Community Molecular Profiling in Advanced Cancers Trial) – are trying to see if tests that look at each patient’s tumour to find genetic changes or mutations can improve how patients with solid tumours are treated. This information can be used to identify or create targeted therapies designed to better treat each individual patient.

Tumour genetics guide cancer treatment

Large studies have profiled tumour DNA and tried to understand the genetic changes of many cancers, but these studies have not shown how to use this information for treatment. In the IMPACT and COMPACT trials, researchers are testing if they can find common genetic changes in patients with solid tumours – such as breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer – and match these patients to clinical trials based on these changes. The goal is to better direct patients to clinical trials and precision treatments once traditional therapies have stopped working.

Although the IMPACT and COMPACT trials are still ongoing, the researchers have published results for the first set of patients who were enrolled. Of the 1,640 patients whose tumours were profiled, 235 (15%) participated in therapeutic clinical trials, including 84 patients (5%) in which the treatment strategy matched the genetic mutations found within their tumours. Within this small patient group, results were promising, showing that the tumours shrank even after 18 months of follow-up.

Researchers were also able to introduce a new technology for cancer diagnosis and treatment on a large scale. These trials required oncologists, laboratory physicians and clinicians to work together to generate the complex genetic information, include it in the patient’s medical records and use it to guide treatment decisions for certain patients.

Small number of targeted cancer treatments are available

Unfortunately, only 5% of patients enrolled in the trial were able to be matched to a clinical trial specific to their tumour’s genetic mutations and benefit from this approach. Scientists have only been able to develop targeted therapies for a small number of genetic changes found within cancer.

Further research in this area should expand upon these types of trials and confirm whether this type of approach is practical and useful for the treatment of solid cancers.

The benefits of this study extend beyond the patients involved within these trials. The IMPACT and COMPACT trials have also created a valuable bank of genetic information and tumour samples that can be used for future research to improve targeted drug development and precision medicine.

Katherine Wright, PhD

Stopping cancer spread with immunotherapy

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 09:35:41 -0400

Immune system molecules could be used to stop cancer from spreading through the body, according to new research from Queen’s University.

When cancer spreads, or metastasizes, to other organs, it is more difficult to treat, and survival is generally lower than if cancer does not spread. Researchers are testing many different strategies to stop cancer from spreading, including immunotherapy.

Cancer cells rearrange themselves and their environment

Some one-celled organisms like amoebas move around by extending a part of the cell forward, almost like a foot, with the rest of cell following. Cancer cells have their own similar version of this movement, using parts of the cell called invadopodia. Through this movement, cancer cells invade into the surrounding biological material, breaking it down and allowing cancer cells to spread throughout the body.

Cells need a molecule called MMP14 (matrix metalloproteinase 14) to form invadopodia and help them move. In fact, scientists have found that cancer cells with higher amounts of MMP14 spread more and result in lower survival than cancers that have lower amounts of MMP14.

With funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, Dr Andrew Craig and his team at Queen’s University have been studying whether blocking MMP14 could be an effective strategy to prevent cancer from spreading. They are specifically studying this strategy as a potential treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that has limited treatment options and worse survival than other types of breast cancer.

Blocking MMP14 prevents cancer growth and spread

The team recently published research that looks at using immunotherapy to block MMP14. They tested a large number of immune system molecules called antibodies for their ability to bind to and block the MMP14 molecule. They found one antibody that seems to recognize MMP14 specifically and be very effective at blocking its activity.

The successful antibody attaches to MMP14 and interrupts the processes that are critical for creating a good environment for cancer cells to grow. It prevents the growth of blood vessels around tumours, disrupts the development of a low oxygen environment and improves immune system response – all of which make the biological environment around cells more hostile to cancer and limit tumour growth.

When the team tested the antibody in the lab, they found that it could block cancer growth and spread. Treatment with the antibody resulted in smaller tumours that did not grow as quickly, as well as fewer tumours that had spread.

Further research will improve effectiveness of immunotherapy

While the antibody is able to block MMP14’s activity, it has a relatively weak bond with MMP14, which is not ideal for a potential treatment. Dr Craig and his team are already working on engineering the antibody to make a new version that has a stronger bond, making it even more effective.

The team is continuing this line of research to understand whether combining this strategy with other immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, can be even more successful as a treatment.

It is important to know that this research is still in very early stages, and the antibody has not been tested in people yet. However, these early results are very encouraging and hold a lot of potential to improve treatments for triple-negative breast cancer.

Eileen Hoftyzer, BSc and Carolyn Goard, PhD

Matching the right drug to the right ovarian cancer

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 09:36:03 -0400

Read a blog from the CCS Research Information Outreach Team (RIOT) that reviews the promise and challenges of personalized medicine, with a focus on ovarian cancer.

Toronto R.I.O.T.

Why are colorectal cancer rates in young adults on the rise?

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:31:38 -0400

Read a Global News article on new research relating to rising colorectal cancer rates in young Americans and whether similar trends are being found in Canada.

Read article

Drug repurposing for colorectal cancer: redesigning a house into a bookstore

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 09:58:25 -0500

Read this blog to learn about how researchers are repurposing a drug used for heartburn to treat colorectal cancer.Read blog

Making decisions about funding cancer drugs in Canada

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 09:37:04 -0400

As new drugs are discovered, the costs of cancer treatment can climb. This video, produced with the support of the CCS-funded Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC), features dialogues with Canadian experts in cancer research and care discussing how to make fair and sustainable cancer drug funding decisions.

Its 4 sections cover:

Economics and healthcare decision-making
Opportunity cost and difficult decisions
Healthcare in rural, remote and northern communities
Personalized care and quality of life

Liquid biopsies: promise in lung cancer

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 09:14:24 -0400

In this video, Prof. Benjamin Besse of Gustave Roussy in France outlines recent findings from studies on the use of liquid biopsies to detect lung cancer mutations in the blood.

Detecting aggressive prostate cancer with a simple blood test

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 09:08:58 -0400

Researchers at the University of Alberta are testing a new blood test for aggressive prostate cancer that could avoid unnecessary biopsies. Read more in this article from the Edmonton Journal.

Edmonton Journal

Photo courtesy of the University of Alberta, Office of Advancement.

Chasing Down Metastatic Cancer

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 13:02:18 -0500

Read this blog to learn about how cancer grows and spreads in the body, as well as how metastasis is being studied to develop better treatments.

Read blog

Working the night shift might prevent DNA repair

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:09:44 -0400

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that night shift workers seem to miss out on repairing daily damage to their DNA overnight. If this leads to more mutations, it could explain an increased risk of cancer in people who work through the night. Learn more in this article from The Telegraph.

The Telegraph

Doorways to Discovery: Liquid Biopsy to Track Cancer

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 11:55:20 -0500

In this video, Dr. Chetan Bettegowda, a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, discusses his research on a new liquid biopsy to screen people to detect cancers before they have symptoms, when they are not yet clinically detectable.

A quit smoking website for men

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:45 -0500

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New Hope for Elderly Patients with Glioblastoma

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 12:59:00 -0500

Read this blog to learn about a how a CCS supported clinical trial showed a combination therapy reduced the risk of death by 33% among elderly glioblastoma patients.

Read blog

The immune system’s quality control: eliminating cells that could lead to cancer

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:08:27 -0400

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology learned how the immune system recognizes and destroys cells that have accumulated an abnormal, unbalanced amount of genetic information, which could turn the cell cancerous. These findings could lead to new immunotherapies designed to tackle cancer. Learn more in this article.

MIT News

Using existing drugs in a new way to treat bone cancer

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:11:17 -0400

By performing one of the largest studies of the genetic make-up of bone cancers called osteosarcomas, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators discovered that a subset of people with these cancers have genetic mutations that may make their tumours sensitive to an existing drug. Learn more in this article.

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Oct 17 Article

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:47 -0500

This is content for the Oct 17th article.

Treating, not just preventing, HPV infections and cancers with vaccines

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:25:24 -0400

Can HPV-associated cancers be treated by a vaccine? Researchers hope to provide this new treatment soon.

What is HPV?

HPV – human papillomavirus – is a group of viruses that commonly infect men and women. About 75% of men and women will have at least one HPV infection in their lifetime.

HPV infection can lead to many cancers. HPV causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer, as well as 5 other types of cancer.

HPV vaccination programs have been very successful in preventing HPV infections and associated disease in Canada, but HPV cancers are a problem worldwide. Developing countries have many more causes of HPV-associated cancers because they have limited access to screening programs or vaccines, and treatments for existing HPV infections and diseases are urgently needed.

What do HPV vaccines do?

The current HPV vaccines are called prophylactic vaccines. They prevent healthy people from getting HPV infections and prevent previously infected people from getting re-infected.

But these vaccines are not able to clear existing HPV infections in people or treat any tissue changes caused by persistent HPV infection. These tissue changes are the first thing we see before cancer develops.

A different type of vaccine, called a therapeutic vaccine, is being tested to treat existing HPV infections and associated diseases.

How do HPV vaccines work?

The prophylactic HPV vaccine prevents infection. It causes the immune system to create antibodies that neutralize HPV viral particles in the body before they can cause infection.

Therapeutic vaccines target cells and tissues that are already infected. These vaccines train the immune system to find and kill cells infected with HPV.

We need different vaccines to prevent and treat HPV infections because the virus is different before and after it has infected a cell. When a virus infects a cell and is not cleared by the immune system, the virus integrates its DNA into the host cell’s DNA. Some of the genes the virus no longer needs are deleted during this process.

Unfortunately, these deleted genes create the markers that the vaccine targets to prevent infection, making prophylactic vaccines useless in treating HPV-associated cancers and diseases.

How are researchers improving HPV vaccines for cancer treatment?

When some of these genes are deleted, there are changes in other genes that are expressed, or turned on. Researchers think increased expression of other HPV genes, called E6 and E7, contributes to cancer development. They have shown that HPV-associated cancers need these gene products, called oncoproteins E6 and E7, to grow.

Researchers are developing therapeutic HPV vaccines to target the E6 and E7 gene products. These gene products are specific to the virus, so they are “foreign” to our immune system and can be more easily recognized and destroyed.

Researchers have developed several types of therapeutic vaccines that are being tested in preclinical and clinical trials. Researchers are trying to prove in these clinical trials whether a therapeutic HPV vaccine is able to control HPV infections in humans. They will need to do more clinical studies to further prove how effective these therapeutic HPV vaccines are in treating cancer.

Therapeutic HPV vaccines, with continued research efforts, could be clinically available in the near future and could be used along with other available therapies to treat a variety of HPV-associated cancers.

Katherine Wright, PhD

The link between chromosomal “protective tips” and cancer risk

Tue, 09 May 2017 15:38:37 -0400

Read a CTV News article highlighting new research that found that the length of the protective “tips” on chromosomes could predict cancer risk.

Read article

Realistic human lung cancers in mice

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:46 -0500

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New prostate cancer treatment significantly improves survival

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 08:50:07 -0400

Some clinical trials test a new drug to be sure that it is safe and effective, while others test whether existing treatments can be used for something different than their original purpose.

A recent clinical trial called STAMPEDE tested whether a drug called abiraterone (Zytiga), originally used to treat advanced prostate cancer, could be beneficial if used earlier in the disease. The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June, showed that the drug could be combined with a standard type of hormone therapy early in treatment to dramatically improve patient survival.

How does hormone therapy for prostate cancer work?

Prostate cancer cells need male hormones called androgens (like testosterone) to grow and spread. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a standard form of hormone therapy for prostate cancer. ADT prevents androgens from working properly, and as a result, prostate cancer cells can’t use them to grow.

A different approach to hormone therapy is to prevent the body from making the androgens that prostate cancer cells need in the first place. Abiraterone is a drug that blocks the biological pathway the body uses to make androgens, preventing the body from making these hormones.

Abiraterone is currently used to treat men with advanced prostate cancer that has become resistant to ADT. But the STAMPEDE trial results show that it could be used to help even more men if it is used earlier on, at the start of hormone therapy.

Trial results showed a dramatic improvement in survival

The STAMPEDE trial was one of the largest ever clinical trials for prostate cancer, with more than 1,900 men taking part. Roughly, half of the trial participants received ADT plus abiraterone, and the other half received ADT alone. This course of treatment lasted 2 years, unless the patient’s cancer progressed sooner and then a more aggressive treatment was prescribed.

The researchers found that the combination therapy prolonged the time to when the cancer progressed by 71% and extended overall survival by 37%. Both results were significant improvements from ADT alone.

It’s rare to have a trial show such dramatic results. The lead investigator on the trial, Professor Nicholas James from the University of Birmingham in the UK, said in a press release, “These are the most powerful results I’ve seen from a prostate cancer trial – it’s a once in a career feeling.”

Success of trial could change standard of care for prostate cancer

The trial results are so significant that they have the potential to change how prostate cancer is treated around the world. The combination therapy could soon become the new standard of care and could also be combined with other treatments to be even more effective.

Since abiraterone is already an approved drug for prostate cancer treatment, the results of the trial could potentially be implemented relatively quickly.

While it’s encouraging when a new cancer drug is developed, it’s also exciting when researchers find new ways to use existing drugs. The drugs then have the potential to benefit more people and have a greater impact than initially planned.

Eileen Hoftyzer, BSc, and Carolyn Goard, PhD

Finding new treatments for brain cancer

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:37:45 -0400

Learn about the progress being made to identify new therapies for treating a very aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

The Crucial Role of Patient Samples in Cancer Research

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 12:47:37 -0500

Read this blog to learn about a how advances in cancer research and treatment would not be possible without patient samples.

Read blog

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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:45 -0500

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What are ‘targeted’ cancer drugs?

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 10:05:08 -0500

In this video, the way researchers design targeted cancer drugs is explained, by showing the shape and function of faulty molecules inside cancer cells.

A new tool to see aggressive cancers

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:45 -0500

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New microscope invented to improve cancer surgery

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:09:03 -0400

Engineers and pathologists at the University of Washington worked together to develop a new microscope to help surgeons make sure that they remove the full tumour in real-time. Learn more in this article.

UW News

ASCO roundup: New research highlighted at renowned oncology conference

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:10:12 -0400

New research presented at the annual American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting could change how cancer is treated worldwide. Read about emerging advances in prostate, lung and breast cancer treatments in this update from CTV News.

CTV News

Emerging research shows early promise for sarcoma vaccine

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:10:42 -0400

New research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre presented at the annual American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting shows early promise for a new sarcoma vaccine. Read more in this article.

Fred Hutch

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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:46 -0500

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Exosomes: cancer diagnosis clues in the blood

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 09:07:54 -0400

What are exosomes? These tiny particles released from cancer cells into the blood could offer clues for early detection and diagnosis, potentially leading to new blood tests for cancer. Read more about research on exosomes in this overview from the National Cancer Institute.

National Cancer Institute

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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:46 -0500

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A new blood test to help better treat ovarian cancer

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 18:19:23 -0400

Could a marker in a patient’s blood help doctors choose the best treatment for ovarian cancer?

This is the goal for many types of cancer. Researchers hope to develop blood tests, called liquid biopsies, to diagnose and monitor cancer better in order to improve treatments.

Cancer cells release their DNA into the blood

When cancers are treated, tumour cells break down and die. Tumour cells release their molecules and DNA, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. Researchers are developing tests that can detect these particles.

The prospect of detecting tumour DNA in a blood sample is very exciting. Unlike biomarkers used in the past, such as proteins, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is specific to cancer cells. In the lab, ctDNA in a blood sample can show genetic changes, or mutations, that are highly specific to cancer.

A new blood test could detect ovarian cancer

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new blood test to detect specific mutations in ctDNA. This test looks for a gene called p53, which is a chief controller of when a cell grows or divides. While p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer, researchers are focusing on ovarian cancer since almost all cases have a faulty version of p53.

A blood test already exists for monitoring ovarian cancer. It looks at levels of a molecule called CA125 in the blood. But this test is not as precise because CA125 is also released by normal cells, not just cancer cells. Researchers have also found that CA125 levels do not change quickly enough after treatment to determine if a tumour is responding to chemotherapy.

Test detects response to ovarian cancer treatment

To find out if their new test is better able to measure tumour size and response to therapy, the researchers compared their results with those of CA125 tests.

Researchers looked at 40 blood samples from women before, during and after treatment. They also used CT scans to determine the size of the tumours and studied information on how long it took for cancers to progress.

The researchers found that levels of mutant p53 DNA matched tumour size better than CA125, showing that p53 could be a better indicator of disease severity.

They also found that when mutant p53 levels dropped more than 60% after chemotherapy, patients responded longer to therapy.

Clinical trials will confirm test results

These exciting results show that levels of ctDNA and specific mutations could be used as a measure of tumour size and effectiveness of treatment.

But researchers still have a few things to figure out. This study was carried out on samples that were already available instead of being collected specifically for the experiment. When a study is done this way, researchers can’t control for differences among samples, limiting their ability to accurately predict success in more patients.

The researchers will now test these results using a larger group of women enrolled in clinical trials. Researchers need results from these larger, better-designed trials before the test can be used routinely.

Ovarian cancer can be difficult to diagnose and treat, but these promising results offer a step forward in monitoring and treating this disease. With early information on tumour size and treatment response, doctors can switch therapies if a patient isn’t responding and hopefully increase survival rates of this deadly disease.

Katherine Wright, PhD