Using artificial intelligence (AI) to spot patterns across thousands of cancer cell images, researchers at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have pinpointed a distinct subset of endometrial cancer that puts patients at much greater risk of recurrence and death, but would otherwise go unrecognized by traditional pathology and molecular diagnostics.
The sudden onset and severity of de novo metastatic prostate cancer makes it one of the deadliest cancers affecting men. Characterised by additional aggressive cancer lesions in other parts of the body, the condition is found in around five to 10 per cent of prostate cancer patients at the time they are first diagnosed.
Researchers at the Vancouver Prostate Centre are leading a multi-site clinical trial to explore new precision treatments for patients with prostate cancer. The Genomic-biomarker-selected Umbrella Neoadjuvant Study (GUNS) trial led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) researchers Dr. Lucia Nappi and principal investigator Dr. Martin Gleave will use genomic markers from study participant samples to make treatment recommendations for patients.
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) researchers Drs. Yemin Wang and David Huntsman have unlocked new research pathways into the development of rare cancers in DICER1 syndrome patients that are mainly infants and toddlers. Triggered by non-classical, two-hit mutations in the DICER1 gene responsible for the management of the production of many other genes, DICER1 tumours can progress quickly and become deadly.
“Our findings are the first to validate the driver of the disease,” states Huntsman.
A simple hysterectomy has been found to be a viable, effective alternative to a more invasive procedure for women with low-risk, early-stage cervical cancer. The results of the SHAPE (Simple Hysterectomy And PElvic lymphadenectomy) study co-led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researchers Dr. Janice Kwon and Dr. Lori Brotto show that patients who received the less invasive procedure experienced the same clinical outcomes as those who received a radical hysterectomy.
An innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) technology is aiding clinicians in identifying and classifying polyps and adenomas that could lead to colorectal cancer, according to the findings of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Michael Byrne.
Oral cancer — also called mouth cancer — affects about 5,400 Canadians every year. Although oral cancer can be treated successfully when caught in its early stages, it generally has a high mortality rate due to late detection. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute clinician-scientist Dr. Catherine Poh answers questions about the risk factors for oral cancer and explains how current research is addressing oral cancer awareness across B.C.
Researchers at the Vancouver Prostate Centre have discovered that prostate cancer cells use a property in the androgen receptor to enhance the production and spread of the disease. The groundbreaking study, led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Nada Lallous and Dr. Joerg Gsponer, and published in Nucleic Acids Research, lays the foundation to investigate novel therapies to target and destroy prostate cancer.
A study headed by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researchers Dr. Nader Al-Nakouzi and Dr. Mads Daugaard has uncovered a vital clue behind the recurrence of prostate cancer following anti-androgen hormone therapy. Published in the journal Nature Communications, these findings are the first to connect an elevated sugar coat around advanced prostate cancer cells to cancer relapse.
Staying fit can lead to good feelings, and may also help support the long-term care and recovery of women with breast cancer, according to the results of a pilot study led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Kristin Campbell.
