Ongoing investments in cancer making big impacts

Dr. Mathieu Mancini, postdoc in Langlais Lab running a single cell RNA-seq experiment.
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Three projects tackling cancer in Canada

Cancer is responsible for more than 1 in 4 deaths in Canada, with more than 600 new cases diagnosed daily. In May 2024 Genome Canada announced and investment of almost $13 million (of a $41 million envelope) into cancer research.

Fundamentally a disease of unstable genomics, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has much potential with this work. The three projects span tumours of the bone and soft tissue (sarcomas) to immunotherapy like CAR-T to inherited mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency (also known as Lynch Syndrome, LS) affects at least 1 in 300 Canadians.

These teams are leading the way in the way we manage this life-altering, and often life-ending, disease. The projects include:

Trevor Pugh from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Dynacare partnering on Streamlined care for Canadians with mismatch repair deficient cancers through full-service genetic and epigenetic DNA sequencing which will test and clinically validate a new MultiMMR panel through a pilot study. with various clinics nationally. With close to $800,000, the team will also validate a new application of MultiMMR to blood cell-free DNA for proactive cancer screening in LS and constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) carriers.

McGill University’s Michel Tremblay and David Langlais, alongside McGill University Health Centre’s Pierre Laneuville will lead Establishing therapeutic cord blood derived NK cells for hard-to-treat cancers through omics-based selection and pharmacological activators. The project, with $5.9 million in funding will use genomics solutions to improve the clinical management of hard-to-treat cancers like AML through CB-NK cell therapy. It will establish a comprehensive resource for “off-the-shelf” NK cell immunotherapy and the unique methodologies will enable the processing, storage and recovery of CB-NK cells; optimisation and simplification of their clinical use; and national distribution of the therapeutic CB-NK cell bank to treat a larger cohort of cancer patients.

Adam Shlien and Rose Chami from The Hospital for Sick Children and Brendan Dickson are Advancing patient care in oncology: Integrating multiscale transcriptomics for sarcoma classification, and beyond. The team has recently developed a platform to accurately diagnose (with 85-95% accuracy) any sarcoma using its ribonucleic acid (RNA). Thus, this project will validate and implement the platform at two large hospitals, which together treat around 1,000 patients with tumours of soft tissue and bone each year. Commercial partner DNAstack will expand the platform to the cloud and Illumina will expand access to this platform across Canada.

Jean-François Théberge (Research Assistant), Professor Michel L. Tremblay (Principal Investigator), Chu-Han Feng (Ph.D. student) working with cell cultures in a Biological Safety Cabinet.
From left to right: Jean-François Théberge (Research Assistant), Professor Michel L. Tremblay (Principal Investigator), Chu-Han Feng (Ph.D. student) working with cell cultures in a Biological Safety Cabinet. Photo credit: Isabelle Aubry.

 

ABOUT GAPP

The Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) supports industry-facing partnered research projects that address real-world challenges. Designed to accelerate the social and economic impact of genomics, GAPP provides the space for research, innovation and application to thrive collaboratively. GAPP projects address real-world challenges and opportunities through greater collaboration between genomics scientists and the users of genomics research. They aim to stimulate public- and private-sector investment in Canadian genomics technologies, advancing technology uptake in receptors and moving technologies across readiness levels. 

Quick facts

  • Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) is a flagship initiative that recently marked its 10th year and 100th funded project.
    • GAPP leverages world-leading expertise and diversified public-private partnerships to accelerate the adoption of genomics solutions to generate broad economic and societal benefits for Canada
  • Budget 2021 provided $400 million over six years, starting in 2021–22, to support the creation of the Canadian Genomics Strategy to drive further innovation in genomics through commercialization and adoption. This funding included $136.7 million over two years, starting in 2022–23, for programming delivered by Genome Canada to kick-start the new strategy and complement existing genomics research and innovation programming.
  • Since 2000, Genome Canada has leveraged $1.6 billion in federal investment into a total investment of $3.9 billion in R&D including co-funding, supported over 13,784 talented research trainees, and spun-out more than 120 new Canadian companies.

Media contact

Nicola Katz
Director, Communications
Genome Canada
Cell: 613-297-0267
nkatz@genomecanada.ca

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