Personalized Treatment of Lymphoid Cancer: British Columbia as Model Province

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Generating solutions

Status

Active

Competition

2012 Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition – Genomics and Personalized Health

Genome Centre(s)

GE3LS

No

Project Leader(s)

Fiscal Year Project Launched

2012-2013

Project Description

Thanks to new research, scientists can now decode the genetic  instructions in both normal and malignant cells. Armed with this information, doctors will  soon be able to select the best cancer treatment for each individual. Lymphoid cancers  are special because even when they have spread widely in the body they can still be  cured. Recent research has shown that genomic sequencing can recognize special  lymphoid cancers that are often not cured today but which could be treated more  effectively using personally designed treatments. Drs. Joseph Connors, Marco Marra  and Randy Gascoyne’s research team will apply genetic sequencing to lymphoid  cancers—the fourth most common type of cancer. This research could increase the  cure rate of several lymphoid cancers by 20 per cent—this means more than forty lives  saved annually in BC and upwards of $2.5 million savings to the healthcare system in  that province alone, and immeasurable dollars recovered from the ripple­effect of  disease impacts such as lost work days and family suffering. This research will use BC  as a pilot project to show how to use genomic analysis to cost­effectively cure more  cancer patients in a way that can readily be duplicated elsewhere around the world.

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