BC Cancer - 2017 Donor Impact Report - 5

GIFTS GENEROUSLY MATCHED
FOR EARLY DETECTION
BC Cancer Foundation donor Bill McCarthy put forward
a challenge to British Columbians, offering to match their
donations dollar for dollar, up to $1.25 million, to support
early detection research. In all, 7,258 donors rose to the
challenge and contributed $1.64 million.

Dr. Dirk van Niekerk,
medical director,
Cervical Screening
Program, BC Cancer

Early detection methods directly impact patient outcomes.
Experts at BC Cancer are currently studying how to detect
ovarian, pancreatic and lung cancers earlier.
Bill was inspired to support early detection because it saved
the life of his mentor and grandfather, John Jambor. John's
cancer was spotted early, allowing him to spend another
decade with his family. Funds raised through the match
challenge will ensure more families are able to do the same.

More than

7,000
INDIVIDUALS

raised

$2.89
MILLION

HOPE FOR WOMEN
WITH OVARIAN CANCER
More than 300 women are
diagnosed with ovarian
cancer each year in B.C.,
and 80 percent of women
diagnosed with high-grade
serous ovarian cancer
relapse after a positive
response to initial treatment.
BC Cancer researchers have
gained crucial insight into the spread
of this disease in a groundbreaking
study published in Nature Genetics.

AWARDS TO ADVANCE
CANCER DETECTION AND CARE
The BC Cancer Foundation awarded
$1.5 million to seven researchers
through BC Cancer's new Strategic
Priority Fund Awards.
One of the award recipients, Dr. Dirk
van Niekerk, is seeking to expand an
online testing platform for self-collected
cervical cancer screening in the Fraser
Valley, which has the lowest screening
rates in the province. Patients who test
positive for high-risk strains of human
papillomavirus (HPV) will be contacted
and referred for further testing and care
to manage their cancer risk.

IMMUNOTHERAPY CLINICAL TRIALS

Rose Lee, breast
and ovarian
cancer survivor

Dr. Sohrab Shah and his team discovered that many cancer
cell types make up a patient's tumour. They also discovered
that cells are uniquely able to spread throughout the
abdomen. By mapping this migration of cells, Dr. Shah's
team illustrated how the disease reaches a widespread,
life-threatening stage. This new understanding will help
researchers build predictive tools and select more aggressive
treatment for women facing this deadly disease.

Planning for Phase I immunotherapy
clinical trials is underway for ovarian,
endometrial and cervical cancers. Led by
Dr. Anna Tinker, trials will use an approach
that helps amplify the patient's own T cells.
Dr. Rob Holt, head of sequencing at the
Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre,
and Dr. Brad Nelson, director of BC Cancer's
Deeley Research Centre, are developing
a CAR-T cell therapy (engineered T cells).
Dr. Holt is the recipient of a $1.3 million
CAR-T grant from BioCanRx. He and his
team intend to begin treating leukemia
and lymphoma patients as early as 2018.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BC Cancer - 2017 Donor Impact Report
