In collaboration with Scientists and Clinicians at TRIUMF and the BCC, we initiated the first 18F-EF5 PET clinical studies in Canada for lung cancer and prostate cancer. Further studies to examine hypoxia in ovarian, and head and neck cancers have also been carried out. Pre-clinical studies carried out by my group formed the impetus for the clinical studies. Our group also supported the production 18F-EFT for clinical use.
Men with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer (PCa) face vexing decisions regarding treatment. The tumour can remain indolent and will not impact the patient within his lifetime, or it can progress to become life threatening (metastatic tumour). A holy grail of PCa research is the identification of prognostic biomarkers, which are biological factors that are associated with the disease outcomes, that can be used to improve patient risk stratification at time of diagnosis and guide treatment decisions.
Recent revolution in anti-cancer therapy utilizes the antibody's power to target cancer cells with chemotoxins. This approach of conjugating toxin to antibody (ADC= antibody drug conjugates) with specific affinity to cancer cells have dramatically improved both the safety and efficacy of the treatment. The most notable recent success is Kadcyla which combines DM1 toxin with anti-HER2 antibody to treat breast cancer. A critical factor in developing a successful ADC is an antibody's ability to internalize itself once it binds to the target cancer cell's biomarkers (receptors).
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a currently incurable, lethal subtype of prostate cancer that can develop from the disease following prolonged hormonal therapy. Unfortunately, there are few treatment options available for NEPC and new therapeutic targets and more effective treatments are urgently needed to improve its management. A state-of-the-art pre-clinical model of NEPC, developed in our group, is giving us unprecedented levels of accuracy in monitoring how NEPC progresses.
Treatment-resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a currently incurable, lethal subtype of prostate cancer that usually develops following prolonged hormonal therapy. The only treatment option for NEPC is a highly toxic chemotherapy, which provides only limited survival benefits. Therefore, more effective treatments are urgently needed to improve the management of NEPC. Our current research goal is to understand how NEPC develops and progresses and pave the road to develop new therapy for the disease treatment.
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