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A message from the President and Scientific Director on the passing of Andrea Redway

Today I am writing to share the sad news of the passing of Andrea Redway, who served admirably as a patient representative on OICR’s Board of Directors and as a patient partner on an OICR Window-of-Opportunity Network clinical trial.

Andrea brought her skills and experience as a lawyer and her passion for advocacy to the Board and helped the organization maintain its focus on the most important aspect of our work – those with cancer. Andrea was sharp-minded and knowledgeable but also apparent was her kind, calm and empathetic demeanor. She will be missed by those of us at OICR who had the pleasure of working with her as well as many others within the Canadian cancer research community.

Andrea was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in 2015 and was subsequently treated with immunotherapy, which was novel at the time. This experience provided her with a deep personal understanding of the significance of cancer research. This compelled Andrea to direct her energy into pushing for improvements in cancer research and care. She was also involved in patient support and education initiatives. In addition to OICR, Andrea worked with Lung Cancer Canada, the Canadian Cancer Survivors’ Network, The Ottawa Hospital, the Canadian Cancer Society, Merck Canada, RETpositive and the Happy Lungs Project.

While today the news is of Andrea’s death, it is through her life that she made a remarkable impact on cancer research and those around her. I know that the OICR community will be forever grateful for her contributions and that future generations will benefit from her legacy. On behalf of OICR I extend our deepest condolences to Andrea’s family, friends and colleagues.

Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi
President and Scientific Director
OICR

How two cancers make themselves harder to treat by suppressing the immune system

New research shows that prostate cancer and Ewing sarcoma exploit a biological process to their advantage.


An international study co-led by OICR researchers has demonstrated how two forms of cancer work to suppress the immune system and could inform new ways to diagnose and treat the diseases.

In their study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from Ontario, British Colombia and Europe looked at prostate cancer and Ewing sarcoma – a rare cancer of the bones and soft tissue that affects children most often – and identified a novel mechanism that contributes to the growth of both types of cancer and help them cause abnormalities in a patient’s immune system.

The team found that Ewing sarcoma and prostate cancer cells release ‘extracellular vesicles’ that can cause inflammation and DNA damage in the non-cancerous cells surrounding a tumour and ultimately lead to the suppression of a patient’s immune system.

These extracellular vesicles can also be taken up across the body by immune system cells, causing them to release ‘pro-inflammatory cytokines’ that help drive tumour growth and suppress immune responses that can help fight cancer.

“Our findings reveal a new biological pathway by which tumour cells are able to dampen and evade the body’s immune system,” says Dr. Lincoln Stein, Head of Adaptive Oncology at OICR and one of the paper’s senior authors. “This raises the possibility of developing diagnostic tests based on these insights to determine which patients are likely to benefit from immunotherapy. In the future, we may also be able to develop drugs that reverse the immune-evasion pathway identified in this study.”

The team went on to examine how exactly these extracellular vesicles work to drive tumours and suppress the immune system. They found a novel mechanism involving the expression of ‘non-coding DNA’, which makes up the bulk of our genome but is only now being linked with cancer. This part of the genome has been known as the ‘dark genome’.

One of the key findings was that the DNA and RNA sequences from the non-coding elements of Ewing sarcoma and some prostate cancer cells mimic sequences expressed by viruses and other pathogens. In fact, they ‘infect’ normal cells by tricking them into thinking they are being infected by a virus, generating a persistent inflammatory response that supresses rather than actives the immune system.

They also found that the uptake of these extracellular vesicles in normal immune cells in the blood can leave a “footprint” in cells that can be identified and measured as a novel approach to detect cancer. They hope this discovery could lead to new tools to detect, monitor and treat the disease.

“This study shows the power of collaborative science, allowing us to uncover a really complex process showing how tumour cells exploit ancient biology to their advantage, which we can then hopefully use for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes,” says Dr. Poul Sorensen, a distinguished scientist at the BC Cancer Research Institute and Professor of Pathology at the University of British Columbia and another of the study’s senior authors.

The research was also co-led by Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi (co-senior author), President and Scientific Director of OICR, whose team included Dr. Peter Ruzanov and Dr. Valentina Evdokimova as lead authors.

This story was adapted in part from an article by BC Cancer.

‘Smart people’ working to make a difference: Co-op student reflects on OICR conference

McMaster University biochemistry student Suky Zheng attended OICR’s 2024 Translational Research conference and was inspired by the people she met and their efforts to help people affected by cancer.

It has been said that if you’re the smartest person in the room, then you’re in the wrong room.

As one of the youngest attendees at the biennial OICR Translational Research Conference, I can attest that there were a lot of smart people in the room. About 250 of Ontario and Canada’s top cancer researchers, students and trainees gathered together to share their work and discuss some of the most recent advances in cancer detection, therapeutics and diagnostic strategies.

Topics included everything from new cancer targets to powerful imaging and sequencing technology, to the exciting potential of liquid biopsies. Speakers also discussed how AI and machine learning can be harnessed for precision medicine and how to improve clinical trials to better meet patient needs. This year’s conference program gave attendees a panoramic view of all the cutting-edge research work that makes Ontario one of the best places for cancer care in the country.

Through my two days at the TRC, I watched incredible presentations and lively discussions from all sorts of experts, including two phenomenal keynotes from Dr. George Kassiotis (Francis Crick Institute, London UK), and Dr. Daphne Koller (CEO of Insitro). However, one of the main highlights for me was getting to hear from all of our patient partners, and learning about how OICR works with its partner, FACIT, to commercialize research so that scientific innovations can flourish in Ontario. OICR is truly unique for how it engages patients in all aspects of research, and for how it emphasizes bringing research from the lab into the clinic so that it can benefit those who need it most.

A very big shout-out to the conference organizing committee for such an unforgettable and memorable experience! I had the privilege of presenting some of our research with my co-presenter Minsheng Hung, another research student working with me in Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi’s lab. We were very honoured to have our poster win a presentation award as well. Being that this is my very first time attending an in-person conference, this memory will definitely be extra special.

Many of my colleagues and bosses still smile a little and tease at my bright-eyed ‘newbie’ attitude, since I get excited over basically anything and everything. But I have to say, isn’t this all so worth being excited for?

While being in a room full of smart people will always feel intimidating, it is also what continues to fuel my passion for science and ambition to strive in becoming a better researcher. So, a huge thank you to all the smart people I met last week — you have opened up my eyes to what it means to bring research to life.

Suky Zheng is a student in McMaster University’s Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences program, and a research co-op student in Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi’s immuno-oncology lab at OICR.

Student-developed machine learning model can predict how medicines treat different tumours

OICR PhD student Farzan Taj created a ‘deep learning’ algorithm that uses different sets of molecular information to predict how tumours respond to drugs.


Precision medicine is about knowing which treatments work best for which patient.

But the more we learn about how small genetic differences can influence how one person responds to one medicine versus another, the harder that becomes.

In cancer research, there’s a nearly limitless combination of drugs and tumour subtypes. Which is why researchers are increasingly turning to machine learning to help predict the most effective medication against different types of cancers.

Farzan Taj has developed a tool he believes can help cancer researchers do just that.

Taj is a PhD student in Lincoln Stein’s lab at OICR studying computational biology and molecular genetics. He dedicated his master’s studies to exploring how machine learning – branch of artificial intelligence – could be harnessed for drug response prediction.

The result is MMDRP, a multi-modal drug response prediction program that was recently described in the journal Bioinformatics Advances.

MMDRP works by analyzing existing data on how certain tumours responded to certain drugs and then makes generalized predictions about how other drugs and tumours might interact based on their molecular makeup. The program uses ‘deep learning’, an advanced subtype of machine learning that processes information much like the human brain.

Taj found that many of the algorithms created to predict drug response used only one type of molecular information – just gene expression data or just mutational data, for example. But deep learning allowed Taj to incorporate multiple kinds of molecular data in his analysis.

“We observed that by combining different types of data that describe various facets of cellular biology, we generated better, more accurate predictions,” Taj said.

A powerful tool like MMDRP can help find drugs that are already on the market approved for treating a different disease that can be repurposed to treat cancer, Taj says. That can mean quicker access to new cancer treatments without having to develop a whole new drug.

Taj also found his algorithm could help identify the unique genetic features involved in the growth and spread of tumours. These kinds of genetic clues are called ‘biomarkers,’ and they can be critical to detecting, diagnosing and treating cancer. Through his research, Taj was able to identify potential biomarkers that may be relevant to breast cancer.

MMDRP is available open-source, and Taj encourages researchers to use it and explore ways to improve it. He hopes the program can ultimately be a valuable tool to support new discoveries in treating cancer.

“By performing these kinds of experiments in silico, or with computers, we can hopefully help focus wet lab experiments on more promising therapies and bring new, personalized treatment options to cancer patients,” he says.

OICR-supported cancer therapeutics company Fusion Pharmaceuticals acquired by AstraZeneca for up to US $2.4 billion

This landmark acquisition of the Hamilton-based company comes after years of funding and support from OICR and FACIT.


AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Hamilton-based Fusion Pharmaceuticals for up to US $2.4 billion marks a major milestone for precision medicine in cancer and for Ontario’s life sciences sector, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is proud to have helped launch this made-in-Ontario success story.

Dr. John Valliant

Fusion is a clinical-stage oncology company developing and manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals, a new class of cancer therapy that uses radioactive isotopes linked to proteins such as antibodies to seek out and kill tumour cells. The company’s innovative therapeutics deliver treatment directly to cancer tissue, limiting the damage caused to surrounding healthy tissue.

Joining forces with AstraZeneca will accelerate the development of these next-generation therapies so they can transform health outcomes for patients with cancer in Ontario and around the world, Fusion CEO Dr. John Valliant said in a news release.

Fusion is a spinout company of the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), which OICR launched in 2008 with the Government of Canada and McMaster University and has supported with more than $12 million in funding and other resources for over the last 15 years.

OICR also supported Fusion through its commercialization subsidiary FACIT, including an initial investment in 2014 and a series of follow-on investments over the years.

Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi

“This is exactly the kind of made-in-Ontario success story we envisioned when we created CPDC and supported Fusion throughout the years,” says OICR President and Scientific Director Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi. “This landmark acquisition is a testament to Ontario’s booming life sciences sector and the provincial oncology community OICR has been critical in building. This transaction is a big win for the cancer patients who will benefit from their innovative treatments, and a shot in the arm for Ontario’s economy.”

Fusion is one of two Ontario companies to spin out from CPDC, which is also based in Hamilton. With OICR’s support, CPDC and its companies are driving cutting-edge research into radiopharmaceuticals, as well as manufacturing and distributing them to hospitals around the world.

“We are very proud of our roots in CPDC, McMaster University and in the Hamilton community,” says Valliant, CEO of Fusion. “The visionary strategy and support of OICR was instrumental in establishing and building Fusion.”

Fusion’s deal with AstraZeneca is expected to close in June. The company will become a subsidiary of AstraZeneca and its operations will continue in Canada and the U.S.

How the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board protects participants while streamlining research in the province

A program of OICR, the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board (OCREB) includes more than 40 expert reviewers who specialize in cancer clinical trials.


Ethics boards are an essential part of cancer research.

They work to protect the rights and welfare of research participants who volunteer to join studies that generate knowledge and innovations that may help people live longer, better lives.

Most hospitals that do clinical research have their own research ethics boards that review study protocols, participant consent forms and other study documents.

But cancer research keeps changing and evolving, with study designs getting more complex and often involving multiple hospitals and cancer centres. These complexities can make it harder for research ethics board to review studies quickly and effectively, while continuing to ensure that every clinical trial meets the highest ethical standards.

For 20 years, the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board (OCREB) has been working toward exactly that goal.

OCREB is a central, expert research ethics board specializing in cancer and serving the hospitals and cancer centres in Ontario that conduct oncology clinical trials. The board is made up of over 40 clinicians, ethicists, statisticians, lawyers, and community members who have the qualifications and experience to evaluate the ethics of the proposed research for adult and pediatric oncology trials. OCREB has a chair and three vice chairs and is supported by a staff of seven.

A program of OICR that operates independently from the Institute’s research programs, OCREB is helping advance cancer clinical trials in Ontario by making the ethics review process efficient and thorough.

OICR News recently asked OCREB Executive Director Natascha Kozlowski about the Board’s unique role in Ontario cancer research, and how it could serve as a model to streamline biomedical research across Canada.

What are research ethics boards and why are they essential to conducting ethical research?

Ethics boards are independent committees made up of reviewers from different disciplines. They review research studies that involve people and their central role is to protect the rights and welfare of study participants. They ensure that the risks of research are minimized as much as possible and that the risks, benefits and burdens of the study are presented in a balanced way so that participants can make informed decisions.


How does having a consolidated, provincial ethics board like OCREB streamline the ethics review process in Ontario?

Imagine you have a clinical trial planned across three different hospitals in Ontario. Without OCREB, the research ethics boards at each of these hospitals would have to review the same study materials. That’s a lot of administrative burden that can ultimately slow down the research process.

Using OCREB, researchers can send the study materials as one application to one ethics board that reviews the study with all sites in mind. Once the study is approved, each site then submits an application to explain how they plan to carry out the trial at their centre.

So instead of having each local research ethics board review the study, OCREB can review the study and then quickly – usually within days – review and approve each of the abbreviated centre applications.

Why is it important to have a research ethics board specifically for cancer?

Clinical trials for cancer are very complex. They often have multiple arms across multiple institutions. And things move quickly in cancer. The standard of care keeps evolving and new technologies are always emerging. That means cancer clinical trials need the lens of specialty reviewers who understand cancer, understand the science and methodologies, and understand the experiences of people with cancer.

OCREB’s expert reviewers have specialized knowledge and understand the science behind cancer clinical trials and study design. They work together to understand the risks associated with a trial to support informed consent and demonstrate respect for trial participants.

Could the OCREB model be adopted more widely across biomedical research in Canada?

Having a centralized, disease-specific ethics board is quite unique in Canada. We were one of the first of our kind and remain a leader in research ethics 20 years later.

Recently, there have been calls to streamline the processes for setting up and running clinical trials in Canada, including ethics review. As these discussions continue, it will be important to look at the success of centralized boards like OCREB. We can learn a lot from what is already working well as we strive to improve the process for health research across Canada so that more people can benefit from scientific innovations.

Ask a cancer researcher: Is there a blood test for cancer?

Ontario Health Study participant Brenda Czich asks OICR’s Director of Genomics Dr. Trevor Pugh about blood tests for cancer. Watch the video to learn about cancer blood tests that are currently available, new ones under development and how these types of tests can help those at risk of hereditary cancers.

How AI can help diagnose cancers that are otherwise hard to spot

OICR-supported researchers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to help diagnose cancer quickly and accurately.


The difference between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue can be so subtle it’s almost imperceptible. And yet distinguishing one from the other can mean the difference between life and death.

Early detection is critical to treating cancer effectively, and it’s one of the pillars of OICR’s research strategy. As part of that strategy, the institute is supporting a range of cutting-edge studies that aim to make detecting and diagnosing cancer easier for clinicians by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

One of those projects is in colorectal cancer, an especially deadly form of the disease that can be tough to detect. Most colon cancer is diagnosed through a colonoscopy, during which doctors will remove and examine growths in the colon called polyps. Some polyps can be cancerous (known as ‘invasion’) while others just look a lot like cancer (‘pseudo-invasion’). They’re so similar it can take a panel of pathologists several days to be sure if a polyp is cancerous, and that could delay the start of a patient’s treatment.

That’s why OICR-supported researchers at Western University are excited about their AI4Path software, which uses ‘deep learning’ to analyze slides of polyp tissue to determine which ones are cancerous. Deep learning is a type of AI that teaches computers to learn by example, making it ideal for recognizing patterns and classifying different things.

In a recent Scientific Reports paper, researchers showed that AI4Path could differentiate between true and pseudo invasion of polyps with 83.9 per cent accuracy. That’s as accurate as an expert pathologist, and results were delivered in under 13 minutes on average.

AI4Path is the first-ever software designed to classify polyps and researchers believe it could reduce pathologists’ workloads and shorten turnaround times for patients waiting for results.

“Our system can act as a reliable expert pathologist to aid the primary pathologist and provide prompt guidance to managing patient care,” says Dr. Qi Zhang, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western University and one of the paper’s lead authors.

Zhang and colleagues are now working on making AI4Path faster and more efficient. They’re also building out other applications to support pathologists and improve screening for colorectal cancer.

Finding skin cancer early is just as important to successfully treating it, and so people are encouraged to go for regular screenings. Many skin cancer screening programs use a device called a dermotoscope, which magnifies and illuminates skin lesions to help see which are cancerous and which are benign.

But the differences between cancerous and skin benign lesions are extremely subtle, especially at the early stages. Even experienced dermatologists can have a hard time distinguishing them.

That’s what drove University of Waterloo Professor Dr. Alexander Wong and colleagues to create Cancer-Net SCa, a deep learning tool that can classify malignant and benign skin lesions.

Their innovative software can deliver quick and accurate results to support dermatologists. In 2022, they reported that Cancer-Net SCa could identify skin cancer with 84 per cent accuracy, and Wong says it has only improved since then.

It’s also efficient, requiring very little computing power or data storage, which Wong and colleagues say makes Cancer-Net SCa easy to integrate into clinical care, and accessible to dermatologists in remote areas in Ontario and around the world.

“We hope [our system can] act as a sort of ‘virtual assistant’,” says Wong, who is also an OICR Affiliate. “Hopefully this gives dermatologists insights that assist them in coming to a well-informed decision.”

AI’s ability to analyze and classify tissues could also help transform breast cancer screening. Mammography is one of the most important tools to find breast cancer early. But mammograms can sometimes miss tumours in women whose dense breast tissue ‘masks’ the appearance of cancerous tissue.

To help close this gap, Sunnybrook Hospital’s Dr. Martin Yaffe has developed an AI algorithm that can analyze images from a mammogram and flag women whose normal dense breast tissue might be masking underlying cancer. These women can then be referred to other tools that are better suited to screen their breasts.

Yaffe, who also co-leads OICR’s Imaging Program, is testing and optimizing his system with the help of an OICR’s Clinical Translation Pathway award. “Our technique uses AI as a tool that can help give women a personalized approach to breast cancer screening and reduce the number of cancers that get missed,” Yaffe says.

“Dream team” science helps move Ontario ahead of the curve on hard-to-treat cancers

OICR’s Translational Research Initiatives (TRIs) made a lasting impact for patients.

In 2017, ovarian cancer research was due for a new approach.

Despite the best efforts of scientists, clinicians and patients, outcomes hadn’t improved for almost 50 years, and the disease always seemed one step ahead.

Gaining ground on ovarian cancer was going take something bold. It was going to take teams of experts asking questions that matter to cancer patients and working together to answer them.

And that’s exactly what OICR had in mind when it created the Ovarian Cancer Translational Research Initiative (TRI) that same year, part of a $24 million investment by the Government of Ontario to support research teams to tackle some of the most challenging cancers.

The OICR TRI program united clinicians and scientists into five teams with clear goals and deliverables. Four teams were charged with delivering solutions for a specific cancer (ovarian, brain, pancreatic and leukemia) while the fifth TRI was created to harness immuno-oncology to treat cancers.

Although the TRI program came to an end in 2022, its legacy lives on in innovative discoveries that are helping give cancer patients a brighter future.

In the Ovarian Cancer TRI, this includes making major discoveries about ovarian cancer and how to treat it, launching two start-up companies, and touching the lives of more than 700 patients who participated in nine new clinical trials.

“The TRI brought together a ‘dream team’ of clinicians and scientists and allowed us to be bold and take risks,” says Dr. Amit Oza of the University Health Network (UHN), who co-led the Ovarian Cancer TRI alongside UHN’s Dr. Robert Rottapel. “OICR funding helped us to better understand how ovarian cancer cells change and become resistant to treatment, and that helped us get ahead of ovarian cancer after seemingly trailing behind.”

Unique teams that reach across disciplines

OICR has a long history of bringing together experts from across Ontario and around the world to solve the biggest challenges in cancer. But the TRIs took OICR’s collaborative, impact-driven approach to the next level.

The program provided significant, multi-year support that reached across institutions and disciplines. It gave research teams a clear, singular goal but also the leeway to approach it from different angles. It also leveraged areas where Ontario had proven strengths – like immune-oncology, stem cells, genomics and clinical trials – in the hopes of translating innovations into patient impact.

“OICR invested in TRI’s in order to support Ontario’s international leaders in accelerating transformative innovations,” says Dr. Teresa Petrocelli, Director Clinical Translation at OICR. “The TRIs fostered partnerships amongst those experts, providing them with support and resources so that they could address key clinical priorities in a coordinated way, translating them for positive patient impact.”

The TRIs were led by some of the top talent in Ontario cancer research. In addition to Oza and Rottapel (ovarian cancer), other teams were led by Dr. Peter Dirks and Dr. Michael Taylor (brain cancer), Dr. John Bell and Dr. Marcus Butler (immuno-oncoloy), Dr. Steve Gallinger (pancreatic cancer) and Dr. John Dick and Dr. Aaron Schimmer (acute leukemia).

For acute leukemia, the TRI program came at just the right time. OICR was already at the forefront of leukemia research, thanks in part to Dick’s discoveries about the stem cells that drive leukemia relapse. But relapse was still common, and the standard treatment – a heavy dose of chemotherapy – caused severe side effects. The Acute Leukemia TRI allowed Dick and Schimmer to recruit a multidisciplinary team to try and turn knowledge about leukemia stem cells into innovative solutions for patients.

“We were able to gather people together who might not have otherwise been studying leukemia stem cells, and raise the caliber of everyone’s work,” Schimmer says.

Wide-ranging innovations

During the term of the TRI program, the teams made significant progress in the five priority areas.

For the Ovarian Cancer TRI, much of this progress revolves around an ambitious prospective trial called BioDIVA. The study recruited more than 500 women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, the deadliest form of disease and most likely to relapse. The tumour samples from BioDIVA – collected at diagnosis, during treatment, and at relapse – continue to be an invaluable resource for understanding why ovarian cancer recurs.

Other Ovarian Cancer TRI studies have looked more directly at treatment options for ovarian cancer, and ways to overcome resistance to treatment. In a clinical trial involving 100 women, Oza and UHN Clinician Scientist Dr. Stéphanie Lheureux found that a unique combination of medicines could extend the lives of women whose ovarian cancer relapsed. In other drug discovery research supported by the TRI, Rottapel and Dr. Methvin Isaac identified a promising target called GCN2 that could lead to a brand new class of therapeutics for ovarian cancer.

These kinds of wide-ranging discoveries covering the entire spectrum of cancer care were typical of the diverse TRI teams.

In acute leukemia, researchers made inroads in early detection by finding signs of acute leukemia a decade before symptoms surfaced. They also developed a diagnostic test that can predict a leukemia patients’ chances of relapsing after treatment. And discoveries about the role of fat production in the development of leukemia stem cells could help create therapies that stop relapse before it happens.

Other key innovations from the TRI programs include using genome sequencing to personalize treatment for pancreatic cancer, overcoming resistance to immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer and paving the way for a new class of therapeutics for brain tumours.

“Our groups made fundamental discoveries that translated into the clinic and are having lasting clinical impacts,” says Schimmer.

Long-lasting impacts for patients

Though the TRIs have officially ended, their influence is ongoing. In total, nearly 1,600 patients were recruited to TRI studies, and the programs generated nine different patent applications.

Some TRI-supported studies are still in progress, and other related studies were made possible by leveraging the TRIs to secure funding from other sources. The Pancreatic Cancer TRI was particularly effective at bringing genomic discoveries to patients through several innovative clinical trials, and was converted to an ongoing program under OICR’s Clinical Translation theme called PanCuRx.

The broader TRI initiative evolved into OICR’s Clinical Translation Pathway (CTP) which employs a similar approach but with even clearer pathway toward clinical impact and stronger connections across the OICR community. The CTP program prioritizes projects that are developing biomarkers, diagnostics and therapeutics and are ready to launch trials for their clinical validation – which was a challenge for some TRI-supported projects. Moreover, through the CTP program, funding is made available to support the implementation of cancer innovations into healthcare policy and clinical practice.

Through CTP, OICR continues to fund projects that grew out of the TRIs, including Dr. Mitchell Sabloff’s work testing biomarkers and treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, and Lheureux’s clinical trial using liquid biopsy to guide treatment for relapsed ovarian cancer.

“The TRIs weren’t just another award or funding stream,” Petrocelli says. “They marked an evolution in how OICR collaborates across institutes and disciplines to make the greatest difference for people affected by cancer.”

Using AI to connect cancer patients with cutting-edge clinical trials

A team of Ontario researchers is developing PMATCH, an automated system to match precision medicine clinical trials with eligible cancer patients.


Clinical trials can be the best way to test new cancer technologies and treatments, and can give patients access to potentially life-saving innovations.

Yet connecting patients with a trial they’re eligible for can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Clinicians and researchers are tasked with identifying all available trial options and their unique eligibility criteria, and comparing that against patients’ health history and complex medical information derived from various sources, including lab tests and tumours’ genomic profiles.

That process can be inefficient and time-consuming. As a result, only a small fraction of cancer patients participates in clinical trials, and many trials struggle to recruit enough patients to yield meaningful results. And it’s only getting more complicated in the age of precision medicine, where patients often need to have cancers with specific genetic mutations or genetic signatures to be eligible for a trial.

But a group of researchers led Dr. Benjamin Haibe-Kains, Dr. Trevor Pugh and Dr. Janet Dancey believe they can limit these missed opportunities and save time and money in the process.

Leveraging funds from Genome Canada and harnessing data from the OICR-supported Ontario-wide Cancer Targeted Nucleic Acid Evaluation (OCTANE) clinical trial, they’ve developed a software platform called PMATCH that uses machine learning – a form of artificial intelligence (AI) – to match patients with precision medicine trials in near real-time. This technology allows PMATCH to compare detailed genomic and health data against eligibility requirements of clinical trial protocols, and even recommend trials for specific patients based on the most up-to-date cancer research data available.

“PMATCH can help drive a new era of precision medicine by automating how patients in Canada are connected to clinical trials, and raising awareness and computability of available trials, so that cancer patients can benefit.” says Pugh, Director of OICR’s Genomics Program, Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.

Ultimately, the team wants clinicians to be able to use PMATCH to quickly find trials for their patients, and for researchers to use it to find potential participants for their trials. For patients who don’t match to existing clinical trials, PMATCH will allow clinicians to access cutting-edge candidate biomarkers predictive of therapy response to better guide treatment decisions.

But before it can be rolled out across the country, PMATCH will be tested and refined at participating cancer centres. That work will be supported by the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (3CTN), a pan-Canadian network with coordinating centre based at OICR that aims to improve the quality of academic cancer clinical trials in Canada. Working with 3CTN, PMATCH researchers will be able to leverage the network’s comprehensive portfolio of adult and pediatric clinical trials, and build on 3CTN’s Canadian Precision Oncology Trial Finder.

“This project lines up perfectly with 3CTN’s priorities to improve how cancer clinical trials are run and improve access to the latest cancer innovations for people across Canada,” says Dancey, who is Scientific Director of 3CTN, Director of the Canadian Clinical Trials Group (CCTG) and Professor of Oncology at Queen’s University.

The PMATCH team just launched a pilot program involving Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, BC Cancer and Kingston Health Sciences. If all goes well, they hope to further refine and scale up PMATCH over the next few years. They would eventually like to see PMATCH used at all major cancer centres in Canada, saying it could help increase the number of cancer patients matched to precision cancer clinical trials in Canada by as much as 50 per cent.

“If we can get as many trials as possible into the system, researchers will be able to recruit much faster and clinical trials will get better,” says Haibe-Kains, who is Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. “Then we can also be certain patients with cancer have access to the best possible care.”