OICR-supported research to help immunocompromised cancer patients get vaccinated

The Waterloo-based study will advance the use of a vaccine decision tool for healthcare professionals tailored to cancer patients’ needs.

A research team at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy is advancing cancer care with support from OICR’s Innovation to Implementation (I2I) Awards.

Cancer and its treatments can often impact a person’s immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. Researchers have found that many healthcare professionals find it challenging to implement a thorough vaccine review into practice due to the complexities in eligibility and access.

OICR support will be used to expand the VaxCheck program, a clinical decision tool that helps healthcare professionals identify vaccines that patients may benefit from, considering this population’s risk of vaccine-preventable diseases and the optimal timing and use of vaccines alongside treatments for cancer.

“We hope that this research will result in a VaxCheck program that is ready for use by various health professionals and that supports the unique needs of people with cancer,” says Dr. Sherilyn Houle, Associate Professor in the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy.

Extend Pharmacy in Ottawa, a University of Waterloo partner that specializes in oncology care, will pilot the updated VaxCheck tool. Their pharmacists will refine the VaxCheck program and apply it to real-world situations to test its usability and effectiveness at identifying and offering vaccines their patients may benefit from and providing patient education on vaccination that is compassionate, personalized, and easy to understand. The data collected will inform future updates and best practices for other pharmacies who wish to incorporate the program into their care process.

The researchers also aim to learn about the factors that people with cancer consider when making decisions around vaccination, to support the development of resources to answer these questions and support their decision-making. They are also aiming to make the program more widely available to other settings and health professionals who provide care for people with cancer.

This story was originally published by the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy and has been reposted with permission. The original post can be viewed at: https://uwaterloo.ca/pharmacy/news/oicr-funding-supports-waterloo-pharmacy-vaccination-research

Streak of discoveries highlights bright future of liquid biopsy

OICR’s Dr. Trevor Pugh is helping realize the enormous potential of blood tests for cancer.

Blood tests might be the future of cancer detection, and that future might be closer than you think.

OICR’s Dr. Trevor Pugh and his lab are behind several major publications over the past few months that describe innovations in blood-based tools to detect and monitor cancer.

Often called ‘liquid biopsies’, these tools measure tiny fragments of cancer DNA circulating in the bloodstream. The DNA fragments — known as cell-free DNA (cfDNA) or circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) — are often present in blood before a tumour shows up on a scan, so they can be a critical marker of cancer at its earliest stages. Liquid biopsy samples can also be collected with a simple blood draw, making testing easier on patients than traditional tissue biopsies.

Liquid biopsy is a priority area for OICR, as part of our emphasis on early detection, and we support ctDNA and cfDNA studies within the institute and across Ontario. During Pugh’s streak of papers in high-impact journals like Nature Cancer, Genome Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research, he collaborated across OICR and with colleagues at Princess Margaret and other leading Ontario institutions.

“The last year has seen an explosion of exciting cfDNA developments across all types of cancer and all manner of medical interventions,” says Pugh, who is Senior Investigator and Director of Genomics at OICR, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (University Health Network), and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. “Our string of papers alone covers 12 types of cancer treated with organ transplant, surgical resection, multiple immunotherapies, radiotherapy and more.”

The breadth of Pugh’s recent innovations underscores liquid biopsies’ diverse potential. There’s a blood test to detect liver cancer both before and after resection surgery, a tool to predict how head and neck cancers will respond to immunotherapy, blood-based monitoring of melanoma during treatment, and the groundbreaking CHARM2 clinical trial that is exploring blood tests to revolutionize cancer screening for high-risk populations

Pugh and colleagues across Canada also created a game-changing database of liquid biopsy samples that will drive new innovations for years to come.

“The challenge now is marshalling all of these exciting findings into a cohesive clinical laboratory strategy that can be implemented in our healthcare system,” Pugh says. “To do this, prospective clinical utility studies are needed to show how these findings hold up in practice and will improve patient outcomes.”

Remembering Emily McIntosh

Our friend and colleague Emily McIntosh passed away in February at her family home near Cornwall, Ontario.

Emily was a founding member of OICR’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), and helped build our patient partnership program into the success it is today. She also worked closely with the Window-of-Opportunity (WOO) Network, where her insights and honesty helped the program balance scientific objectives with the lived realities of patients.

Over five years collaborating with OICR, Emily made an indelible mark on this organization, our research, and perhaps most importantly, on the people around her. Generous with her time and deeply empathetic, Emily went out of her way to counsel and advocate for her fellow patients. She was the first to ask how you and your family were doing, despite navigating her own significant health challenges.

Diagnosed with brain cancer nine years ago, Emily approached every day, and every setback, with grace and humour. She was determined not to let cancer keep her from the things she loved, whether that was flying to the UK to see Oasis or spending quality time with her nieces, nephews and her corgi, Monty.

Emily brought that same determination to a wide range of patient advocacy work beyond OICR. She was an engagement ambassador with Brain Cancer Canada, and collaborated in various capacities with the Canadian Cancer Society and Clinical Trials Ontario. Emily was also a researcher herself, with a PhD in Human Health and Nutrition Sciences (Biomechanics), numerous published manuscripts, and a profound love of science. That she was able to complete her PhD and have a successful research career in the years since her cancer diagnosis is a testament to Emily’s tenacity.

We will remember Emily for her strength and her spirit. She was brilliant, funny and wise beyond her years. We will miss her, and our hearts go out to her family, friends and everyone who loved her.

World Cancer Day: People-centred care starts with people-centred research

OICR Acting President Dr. Christine Williams discusses the rise of patient partnership in cancer research and how it can ensure cancer care meets the needs of patients.

World Cancer Day has me reflecting on one of the most important changes I’ve seen during my career in cancer research and the unprecedented opportunity it has created.

The theme for this year’s event is “United by Unique” and it’s part of a three-year campaign calling for more people-centred cancer care, where each patient’s unique needs and experiences shape the care they receive.

As a scientist and research leader, this reminded me of the scientific community’s journey to bring the voice of patients into the research process. Thanks to the vision and determination of patient advocates, we’ve made major strides to involve patients and caregivers in the planning and execution of cancer research, and the impact has been transformative.

And so for World Cancer Day, with the global cancer community focused on making cancer care more person-centred, I’m excited about the role that person-centred research can play in achieving that goal.

While research sometimes has a reputation of being disconnected from the patient — ‘the lab’ is often seen as distant from ‘the bedside’ — people have always been the heart of cancer research. This is especially true in clinical trials, where participants receive a new tool or treatment as part of their care, and their experiences and feedback help shape the future of that intervention.

Yet there’s a difference between participating in research and doing research. To be truly patient-centred, research needs to be designed and carried out alongside the people it ultimately aims to help. Cancer research should be with patients, and not merely about them.

The formalized involvement of patients in research has its origins in the UK in the mid 1990s, following decades of advocacy from patients demanding a seat at the table. Pioneering organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society started integrating patients into research processes shortly thereafter, and the 2011 publication of CIHR’s Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research set the tone for greater partnership between researchers and patients in Canada.

At OICR, patient partnership has become a fundamental part of our research prioritization, design and delivery processes. We now have patients and their family members contributing at all levels of the organization, providing insights that go far beyond what can be learned with a tissue sample and test tube. I’m proud to say that OICR’s new Strategic Plan 2026-2031 was created alongside cancer patients and their families, and I believe it sets us on a path to person-centred research.

But our efforts to be more person-centred in our research won’t mean much if those innovations don’t reach the healthcare system. One of the pillars of our new Strategic Plan is to tighten the connection between cancer discovery and patient care in Ontario. By working with Ontario Health to identify joint priorities across the province’s research and health systems, we will ensure the day-to-day experiences of patients feed directly into the research we do. In turn, that will help us to deliver innovations that meet patients’ individual needs.

With the direct involvement of patients and a close partnership with the health system, we have a tremendous opportunity to make cancer care more person-centred. As one of our amazing patient partners, Carla-Bossart Pletzer, put it:

“Future generations may well look back on this moment as the turning point when research became truly for everyone, by everyone,” she told a meeting of OICR’s scientific leadership last year.

Now it’s on us as a cancer research community to capitalize on this moment and honour the lived experiences of patients like Carla by engaging them as our partners in research, leading to better science and better outcomes.

Finding safer ways to treat childhood leukemia

OICR-supported research is exploring how chemotherapy impacts brain development in the hopes of reducing side effects for children.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children. It is also one of the most treatable, with a five-year survival rate of about 94 per cent.

But the multi-phased course of chemotherapy used to treat children with ALL may have a negative impact on their brain development and put kids at risk of long-term cognitive or behavioural problems.

Through research supported by OICR and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr. Brian Nieman of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is exploring how chemotherapy affects childhood brain development to find safer ways to treat children with ALL.

In Nieman’s latest published study, he and colleagues at SickKids and the University of Toronto showed that chemotherapy administered intrathecally (through the spine) is less harmful to brain development in mice than when it’s administered intravenously.

Now, he and colleagues are conducting two related studies: one to observe children treated for ALL with chemotherapy to better understand its impact on their brain development, and another to identify genetic factors that might put children at higher risk of side effects impacting brain development — known as ‘neurotoxicity’.

“Our goal is to identify which kids are most likely to experience neurotoxicity before it happens,” says Nieman, whose research was supported by an OICR Investigator Award. “Then ultimately, we hope those children can receive modified treatment or additional support that reduces their risk of life-altering side effects.”

OICR celebrates 20 years of changing lives at anniversary celebration

Scientists, health professionals, patients and leaders in academia, government and industry from across Ontario gathered to mark the 20th anniversary of OICR’s founding.

Ontario’s cancer research community recently came together to celebrate two decades of life-changing impact at OICR’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Held Dec. 11, 2025 in Toronto, the celebration marked the anniversary of OICR’s founding, which was first announced by the Government of Ontario in December 2005.

Key figures from OICR’s past and present gathered at the celebration to commemorate all the institute had achieved for Ontario’s health and economic prosperity over the past two decades, and look ahead to new innovations that will transform cancer care and life sciences for generations to come.

The celebration kicked off with remarks from the Hon. Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, University, Research Excellence and Security, and a special video message from Premier Doug Ford. Other speakers included Chair of OICR’s Board of Directors Susan Fitzpatrick, OICR’s Acting President Dr. Christine Williams, OICR’s Acting Scientific Director Dr. Lincoln Stein, and Ambuj Srivastava of OICR’s Patient and Family Advisory Council.

OICR also honoured the first class of OICR Luminaries — a group of five leaders who played an essential role in building the institute. The inaugural Luminaries are John Evans, Tom Hudson, Michele Noble, Bob Phillips and Cal Stiller.

Later in the celebration, OICR announced the winner of InterConnections, a special art competition for images created as part of cancer research projects. First prize went to “The Meeting Point”, submitted by researchers Megan Hopkins and Dr. Melanie Spears.

The event’s MC Dr. Robert Campos, OICR’s Senior Director of Research Operations and Therapeutic Innovation, wrapped up the successful celebration by acknowledging the event planning team and the event’s sponsor organizations, which included Gold Sponsors Illumina and Fasken. He also thanked everyone in attendance and all members of the OICR community for their efforts to help people affected by cancer live longer, healthier lives.

New ‘data dictionary’ to translate genomics insights into cancer innovations

OICR created the ICGC ARGO data dictionary to harmonize genomic and clinical data collected from around the world.

A new tool to better integrate data into one of OICR’s signature genomics research programs could help generate cancer discoveries by ensuring researchers speak the same ‘language’.

Now published in Nature’s Scientific Data journal, the ICCG ARGO ‘data dictionary’ provides guidance and standardized terminology to help researchers record, label and input information into data repositories using shared language.

This helps ensure new data can seamlessly be combined and compared with other datasets, allowing researchers to generate new insights about cancer, how it develops and how to treat it.

“The data dictionary is like a recipe card for your cancer data,” says Dr. Mélanie Courtot, Senior Director of Genome Informatics and a Principal Investigator at OICR. “It tells you what each data element is, how it’s measured and what values are allowed, so anyone can understand and reproduce the study.”

ICGC ARGO is the latest evolution of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), an OICR-led initiative to collect and catalogue cancer genomes from around the world. The ARGO project takes the next step to integrate clinical information — including which treatments a patient received for their cancer and how they responded — alongside genomic data, creating a comprehensive database researchers can access for cutting-edge cancer genomics projects.

ICGC ARGO integrates data from institutions across 13 different countries, where data collection and classification practices can vary. This sometimes forces researchers to ‘clean up’ their data after the fact so it can fit into the database. Using the data dictionary from the start will save them from the work of retrofitting their findings.

“The data dictionary explains what essential details to enter and how to record them using standardized terminology,” says Hardeep Nahal-Bose, Senior Bioinformatics Data Manager at OICR. “This common language makes it easier to share and combine data from studies around the word, so scientists can work together to find answers about cancer faster.”

The ICGC ARGO data dictionary is interoperable with other common data standards and has been adopted by other global initiatives like the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. It is free and publicly available at docs.icgc-argo.org/dictionary

Protein that unties tangled DNA linked to hotspots of cancer mutations

Research from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research associated a chemotherapy-related cellular process with genetic mutations and used it to identify novel cancer driver alterations.

New research published in Nature Communications has linked a normal cellular process to an accumulation of DNA mutations — including some that drive cancer to develop and grow.

Led by Dr. Jüri Reimand of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), the study centres around a protein called TOP2B, part of a family of enzymes that serve an important function in cells and are targets of common cancer chemotherapies.

Strands of DNA are long and complex, and they often get looped and tangled. When that happens, TOP2B and other topoisomerase proteins make cuts to DNA strands to help untangle and repair them. But Reimand and colleagues found many genetic mutations present at the sites of these cuts.

“Our evidence shows that where TOP2B interacts with a genome to fix DNA loops, a lot of mutations accumulate in cells,” says Reimand, a Principal Investigator in Computational Biology at OICR and Associate Professor in the University of Toronto Departments of Molecular Genetics and of Medical Biophysics. “The vast majority of these mutations are probably harmless, but we also found dozens of well-known cancer-driving mutations at these sites.”

With that in mind, Reimand and colleagues generated a unique collection of sites where TOP2B binds to DNA and then used it as a starting point to search for novel cancer-driving mutations in more than 6,000 genomes of multiple cancer types. They looked specifically at the non-coding genome — large sections of DNA that do not encode for proteins and thus aren’t as well understood as other sections.

By mapping tens of thousands of sites in the non-coding genome where TOP2B is bound to DNA, they identified hundreds of potential cancer-driving mutations. Then they focused on a non-coding RNA gene called RMRP, which had previously been linked to breast cancer. Using functional genomics and mouse models, Reimand and colleagues validated that RMRP plays a key role in the initiation and growth of tumours.

Reimand says the study’s findings could help identify genetic underpinnings of cancers and ultimately new ways to treat them. It could also shed new light on the risks associated with existing treatments.

Existing drugs involving topoisomerase poisons are frontline cancer chemotherapies that are intended to target a different topoisomerase protein called TOP2A that is required for cell division. These chemotherapies can also unintentionally target TOP2B, which has been linked to treatment-related blood cancers. However, before this study, it was unknown whether the DNA regions bound by TOP2B experience an increase in potentially harmful mutations.

“Knowing that the non-coding regions of the genome bound by TOP2B engage distinct mutational processes and an increase in cancer-driving mutations, we have new places to look for cancer driver mutations before and after chemotherapy,” Reimand says.

Co-author Dr. Michael Wilson of the SickKids Research Institute says this study contributes important new information about the nature of TOP2B, which is expressed in non-dividing cells throughout the body.

“While TOP2B’s natural function is still being defined, we know that it interacts with some of the most important non-coding genomic regions controlling gene expression and chromosome structure,” says Wilson, whose research focuses on epigenomics and DNA topology.

“We found that TOP2B operates right where the genome bends and loops to control genes, and those spots are more vulnerable than we expected,” adds Dr. Liis Uusküla-Reimand, co-first author of the study and biomedical scientist at the SickKids Research Institute focusing on DNA topoisomerases and chromatin architecture. “These busy regions can turn into mutation hotspots in cancer, giving us a new way to understand how the shape of the genome affects how cancers form. This highlights TOP2B as a double-edged sword.”

Dr. Daniel Schramek, another of the study’s co-authors, noted that this work shows what’s possible when powerful computational tools are combined with careful experiments in mouse and cell-based models.

“We discovered that mutations in a small regulatory region near the RMRP gene can initiate cancer and make it more aggressive,” says Schramek, a Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute who specializes in functional genomics. “Testing more of these sites using advanced CRISPR techniques will likely uncover even more hidden non-coding drivers.”

This study was funded by OICR, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Terry Fox Research Institute.

Launch of provincial hereditary cancer registry to drive new discoveries and link Ontarians to resources

The Ontario Hereditary Cancer Research Network (OHCRN) is creating a comprehensive provincial database to support research on cancers that are passed on through genetics.

November 17, 2025, ONTARIO — The Ontario Hereditary Cancer Research Network’s (OHCRN) participant portal is now open and Ontarians at risk of hereditary cancers are invited to register.

This first-of-its-kind provincial registry will collect and leverage critical data on all types of hereditary cancers to drive life-changing cancer innovations and provide support to Ontarians who have a higher chance of getting cancer because of their genetics.

Parents pass on genes to their children, which can influence everything from their eye and hair colour to their chances of getting diseases. Sometimes those genes include mutations that significantly increase that family’s risk of developing certain types of cancer. These are called hereditary cancers, and they account for more than one in 10 cases of cancer in Ontario.

Genetic testing has helped many Ontarians find out about their risk of hereditary cancers, but data from their genetic tests are currently stored in unconnected databases across the province and are not being used for research that could lead to more prevention and treatment options.

OHCRN was created and funded by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) to build a centralized provincial database on hereditary cancers in Ontario that can be used to drive new discoveries to detect, diagnose and treat hereditary cancers, while also connecting at-risk Ontarians with clinical trials and other resources.

“This Network is a game-changer for Ontario because it will allow researchers across the province to work seamlessly with patients and clinicians to collect data that will help us get a full understanding of hereditary cancer in the province,” says Dr. Raymond Kim, Head of OHCRN, Clinician Scientist, and Medical Geneticist at University Health Network, Sinai Health System and The Hospital for Sick Children. “With everyone working together, we have a tremendous opportunity to transform the landscape of hereditary cancer in Ontario and around the world.”

The OHCRN participant portal is open to all Ontarians who have had genetic testing because of a personal or family history of cancer. They can also be enrolled by their doctor, genetic counsellor, or a member of the OHCRN team.

“As a genetic counsellor, I have seen firsthand how profoundly research can impact clinical care,” says Tamara Braid, the Clinical Program Manager of OHCRN. “My hope is that OHCRN empowers individuals to contribute to something bigger than themselves and ultimately be a part of changing outcomes for families affected by hereditary cancer.”

Once enrolled, participants will provide additional details about their health and complete a consent process so their genetic test and pathology information can be included. This information will be anonymized and used to create Ontario’s most comprehensive hereditary cancer database, made available to scientists doing cutting-edge research.

“The data collected and the collaborations made possible by OHCRN will make Ontario a global leader in hereditary cancer research, allowing us to deliver solutions that will help people live longer, healthier lives,” says Dr. Christine Williams, Acting President of OICR. “Hereditary cancers impact children and adults, and it has been amazing to see the Ontario cancer community come together for this initiative. We are very grateful to the patients and families that are coming forward to drive this positive change.”

By signing up through the online portal, Ontarians will also be connected to information on advocacy groups and clinical trials, helping them to make proactive decisions about their health and the health of their family.

“Bringing information together from Ontario’s patients and families affected by hereditary cancer through OHCRN will create a valuable resource for research that can lead to better methods for cancer detection and treatment,” says OHCRN patient partner and CGEn CEO Meredith McLaren, who lives with a hereditary cancer syndrome. “My hope is that future generations, including my own children, will benefit from this important work.”

“Every year, thousands of people in Ontario are diagnosed with cancer, and our cutting-edge researchers are uncovering new ways to fight this disease,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “Our government is proud to support the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research and commend their new patient portal that will support hereditary cancer detection and faster treatment so people in our province can continue to live healthy lives.”

The OHCRN participant portal can be accessed at ohcrn.ca. For more information about the portal, please contact the study team at ohrcn@oicr.on.ca

OICR is funded by the Government of Ontario. As the province’s cancer research institute, we take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives. For more information visit http://www.oicr.on.ca.

The views expressed are those of OICR and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Province of Ontario.

Cancer Research Changed My Life: Jocelyn’s story

Jocelyn Rasmussen talks about how a recent innovation in treating ovarian cancer has helped her live a fulfilling life.

Ovarian cancer is what I have.

It does not really cause many symptoms. Nothing noticeable, especially once you’re of the age of menopause.

It’s not something I ever imagined having. But I had one tiny little symptom, and a friend of mine said, “you better go get tested.”

I went to the doctor. They couldn’t do an ultrasound because there was too much fluid, so I had a biopsy and they discovered I had ovarian cancer.

I was referred to a surgeon for radical hysterectomy. Then I went through chemotherapy.

I got three glorious years of cancer-free living before it returned.

During those cancer-free years, I had some peers in cancer treatment who had participated in a clinical trial for a drug called olaparib. To participate, you had to have the BRCA gene. So, I asked if I could have genetic testing, and it turned out I had the BRCA gene.

By the time I went into my second round of chemotherapy, those clinical trials were over, and I didn’t get to be part of them. But when I finished chemotherapy, olaparib had just been approved. I decided that I would take it.

I am now 12 years since my diagnosis, which is much longer than I was expected to live.

And in that time, I’ve been able to record an album of my own songs, do a concert, and raise money for research.

Jocelyn Rasmussen is an author, inspirational speaker, singer, private voice teacher and cancer survivor.

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