Window-of-Opportunity Network - Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

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Window-of-Opportunity Network

Window-of-Opportunity Network Summary

Inquiries

For inquiries about the WOO Network or its trials, or to discuss a potential WOO trial concept, please contact: WOONetwork@oicr.on.ca

The Window-of-Opportunity (WOO) Network is a collaboration between surgical, medical and radiation oncologists and Ontario’s cancer research community to conduct clinical trials in treatment-naive patients prior to cancer surgery.

WOO trials are a powerful way to evaluate the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of potential anticancer therapies. By learning from each WOO trial and comparing the results across WOO trials, our Network accelerates translational cancer research and brings new treatments to patients sooner.

The WOO Network was formed in 2020 under the guidance of a multidisciplinary steering committee. Prioritized WOO studies are provided with funding and support for trial development, translational analysis and knowledge dissemination and leverage OICR’s powerful and standardized multi-omic capabilities. The WOO Network builds study capacity in Ontario through mentorship of new investigators, industry partnerships, data analytics and shared network expertise. The current focus of the WOO Network is to identify agents that rapidly modulate and enhance the immune response in cancer patients.

Illustration of WOO structure

The results of WOO trials can help researchers to:

Profile the tumour microenvironment and related systemic changes following drug exposure
Rapidly identify the mechanism of action and on-target activity for a novel therapy
Further precision medicine by identifying biomarkers to predict which patients will benefit from a therapeutic approach

Importance of WOO trials in cancer research:

Inform the development of potential therapeutic approaches for neoadjuvant treatment of primary cancers
Screen out agents with little or no activity and prioritize more promising agents for oncology drug development
Rapidly verify drug mechanism of action, identify biomarkers for patient selection and interrogate potential resistance mechanisms
Inform “go/no-go” decisions for new immunotherapies and their combinations

About the WOO Network [PDF]

WOO Network Leadership

Dr. Angel Arnaout, MD MSc FRCSC FACS
Surgical Oncologist and Professor of Surgery,
The University of Ottawa
Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Dr. Melanie Spears, PhD
Co-Director, Diagnostic Development,
Principal Research Scientist, OICR

For oncology researchers

The WOO Network provides:

Consultation with patient partners and experienced WOO trialists throughout the study process
Opportunities to test a therapeutic across multiple tumour types or test different therapies on a specific molecular subtype of cancer
Guidance to promote efficient implementation, data collection, translational analysis and knowledge dissemination
Collaboration with experts in translational science and access to leading-edge technologies, resulting in deep molecular analysis
Funding awards for selected WOO Network trials

Currently funded WOO trials

Dr. Michael Ong at the The Ottawa Hospital is examining the effectiveness of pre-operative radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy in patients with bladder cancer, with a specific focus on the role of radiotherapy in ‘priming’ a patient’s immune system to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Malcolm Moore and a team from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, The Ottawa Hospital and Juravinski Cancer Centre are exploring the effect of combining two immunotherapy drugs (durvalumab and oleclumab) given prior to surgery, on the tumour stroma and immune function of patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Dan Breadner of the Baker Centre for Pancreatic Cancer and Lawson Health Research Institute (London Health Sciences Centre) and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (Western University) is examining if stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) therapy can reduce the size of pancreatic tumours and make surgeries more effective, while also monitoring for immune changes in and around the tumour that may increase the chance that a patient’s tumour responds to chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Dr. Marc de Perrot of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and colleagues are exploring if a short dose of radiation therapy combined with immunotherapy (Durvalumab) can shrink tumours in patients with early stage lung cancer, and cause fewer side effects than a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Dr. Michael Reedjik of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and colleagues are testing whether a drug called Anakinra, which is currently used to treat arthritis, can activate patients’ immune systems to attack triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of the disease.

Dr. Angel Arnaout and Dr. Arif Awan of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute are leading a study investigating if combining a drug normally used for dermatological conditions (Dupilumab) with a cancer immunotherapy drug (Cemiplimab) will enhance the ability of a patient’s immune system to fight an aggressive form of estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer.

Criteria for funded WOO trials

Presurgical study in treatment-naive or early-stage recurrence patients
Demonstrated drug safety profile
Patient engagement is embedded in the proposal either through patient engagement at the Principal Investigator’s (PI) healthcare centre or in collaboration with OICR’s Patient and Family Advisory Council
Highly engaged Principal Investigator, inclusion of a surgeon as lead or co-PI is strongly recommended
Completion of patient accrual within two years
Inclusion of trial data in WOO Network’s data platforms
Alignment with current WOO Network research focus: Immunomodulation with emphasis on the identification of novel biomarkers of immune response

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