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BIV Magazines: LifeSciences 2008 Cancer cures: Gene genius Scientists in Vancouver made a tremendous leap forward when they discovered a new gene that suppresses the growth of a tumour. It’s one of the latest weapons in the arsenal at the BC Cancer Agency By Krisendra Bisetty When a personal medical challenge appears insurmountable, it’s sometimes apt to think that nothing short of a miracle is needed. When the task is as vast as halting the spread or even attempting to eliminate a compendium of more than 200 diseases in which cells in the body become abnormal, growing and multiplying out of control, some would argue there’s no gainsaying the need for divine intervention. But a 2,200-strong group of researchers, scientists, academics and others have been defying the laws of nature with a string of successes that’s bringing new hope to thousands of cancer patients. The recent achievements at the BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, may not always make the front pages, but they point to some pretty breathtaking work being undertaken in Vancouver. Among the highlights: •Its scientists discovering a new gene that suppresses tumour growth. If they can learn how to reactivate the gene or block cancer cells from deactivating it, it may be possible to improve treatments for many cancer patients. •Researchers at the agency’s Terry Fox Laboratory discovering that all blood stem cells are not created equal. The discovery adds another layer of understanding about the basic biology of blood stem cells, which may lead to improved treatments for leukemia patients. •Researchers at the agency helping find an important genetic link in a devastating lung disease, which could lead to therapies for a previously untreatable ailment. •A new study setting the stage for the development of innovative approaches to treat androgen-independent prostate cancer, the most common cancer among Canadian men. A senior agency scientist, Dr. Marianne Sadar, engineered a molecule in her lab that blocked the growth of prostate cancer and shrank the size of the tumour. Part of the success of the agency lies in the grim reality that, while 50% of people will survive cancer, 50% will not. That has spurred extensive research, although the goal posts may appear to shift at times. Despite continuing improvement in mortality rates through the impact of interventions on death from cancer, the population burden of cancer continues to rise as a result of the aging of a growing population. The agency, which delivers a range of oncology services, therefore has its work cut out, as it recognizes in a strategic plan: not only must the gains be consolidated, it must also learn more, apply more, and do it more quickly if it is to make a sustained impact on cancer control. Of the 50% who die from cancer, there isn’t yet enough knowledge to know how to change that situation, “notwithstanding we can apply all the knowledge we do have as well as we can,” said Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, president of the BC Cancer Agency, which maintains the highest patient survival rate in Canada. “Therefore, integrating research into clinical practice and in essence being an organization that is constantly asking questions as to how to do things better and how to have better knowledge of cancer, is absolutely key to being a better organization,” said Sutcliffe. Recognized internationally for excellence in research – resulting in new treatment protocols and the development of leading-edge technology – the agency’s success stems from what Sutcliffe attributes to the uniform application of what the agency knows works to the entire population who can benefit. “We’re not just dealing with people who are ill with cancer, we’re looking at the healthy population as well as the cured population as well as the dying population. And we’re very focused. We’re measuring incidents – mortality and the changes associated with our treatment.” The challenges, though, are numerous, said Sutcliffe. “Number 1, given that we are now in a very molecular age, the question is access to the appropriate biological samples on which to do genetic work.” Issues of confidentiality, freedom of information and consent that can arise from that are significant subjects of concern that have to be addressed. The financing of research poses a further burden. Most research is financed through grants or peer-reviewed competition. Increasingly, however, those competitions require matching or co-funding that has to be raised separately from the grant. Where technology is demanding, this adds substantially to the cost of doing research. A challenge, too, is how you move academic research to population application, recognizing, said Sutcliffe, that in that step you’re really crossing from a more academic, university, institutional-type role of science and medicine, into a more business and industry-type relationship. Already occupying a 15-storey building housing multiple research labs and offices on West 10th Avenue in Vancouver, as well as other space in addition to the four regional cancer centres it operates, the agency is forging ahead with the building of a new cancer centre of research excellence on adjoining land. “In effect, it’s a research hospital, and its purpose is to integrate science and medicine and apply that to the population, both healthy and ill,” said Sutcliffe. “So it moves away from the traditional concept of the hospital as a place where you deliver treatment services for ill people.” The agency has applied to the Canadian Foundation for Innovation for $36 million in co-funding for the approximately $107 million, 150,000-square-foot facility, and also has commitments for the remaining $71 million. “I think the impact is going to be very culturally important and it’s going to be very relevant in moving medicine from its current 20th century-type activity into a 21st century-type activity,” said Sutcliffe, adding that molecular sciences that have demonstrated the genetics basis of illnesses have opened up new ways of looking at how to approach them. The agency also continues to be a part of the technology transfer trend with the development of spin-off companies, including Perceptronix Medical Inc., a Vancouver-based company that creates automated testing products and services that enable detection of lung and oral cancer in its early stages. A lot of pre-clinical drug development on therapeutics takes place in-house, with patents and licences granted to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies when the money required to take it further becomes too onerous. The agency’s department of advanced therapeutics has so far manufactured 97 batches of primarily cytotoxic drugs (they inhibit or prevent the function of cells) for clinical testing. Cancer specialist Dr. Dawn Waterhouse runs a business unit within the agency, the investigational drug program which expedites development of new and highly promising anticancer therapeutic agents up to the initial stages of clinical trials. She is now spearheading the internal development of Irinophore C, the latest nano-medicine formulation to come out the research lab that could be the next spin-out company. A component of the formulation is indicated for use in Canada for colorectal cancer. “I think that is pretty remarkable to take something that far into development in an academic setting,” said Waterhouse. •/p> |
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