BC Cancer Foundation - Fall 2015 - (Page 12)

The Next Decade of Discovery Two researchers share their vision for the future T he tremendous success of the BC Cancer Agency over the past decade owes much to the vision and brilliance of its leaders: the clinicians and researchers who each day are translating discoveries from the laboratories of the research centre into new, more effective treatments and enhancements to care that will benefit patients in clinics across the province. Drs. Kasmintan Schrader and Will Lockwood are among those leading the next wave, laying the groundwork for the decade of discovery to come and devising a road map for success in cancer research. KASMINTAN SCHRADER, MD Dr. Schrader is a researcher in the Department of Molecular Oncology and a physician at the Hereditary Cancer Program at the BC Cancer Agency. Her research is focused on understanding the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility 12 PARTNERS IN DISCOVERY in individuals and families affected by the disease. She explains that a person's susceptibility to cancer is often identified in patients and families who already exhibit specific cancer patterns and mainly for the purpose of prevention or earlier detection. "In recent years we have learned that the diagnosis of inherited cancer susceptibility can also have important treatment implications. This is because certain drugs may be more effective in cancers caused by a patient's inherited risk," says Dr. Schrader. This has led to an increase in genetic testing for specific tumour types. Currently, the genetic tests for hereditary cancer susceptibility focus on the study of genetic material from a patient's blood sample alone. Dr. Schrader would like to speed up diagnosis of inherited cancer susceptibility by using cuttingedge DNA sequencing technologies to study the tumours in parallel with normal samples. Dr. Schrader's research program also includes the study of tumour sequencing to identify druggable mutations: "I am very interested in understanding how we can identify individuals that have a susceptibility to cancer without having a prior history of it in their family," she says. "Identification of inherited cancer susceptibility through tumour

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BC Cancer Foundation - Fall 2015

BC Cancer Foundation - Fall 2015
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Healthy Insights
Why I Give
Researcher Profile
On the Way to Personalized Cures
Donors Are Saving Lives Today and Tomorrow
The Next Decade of Discovery
Legacy Giving
Regional Roundup

BC Cancer Foundation - Fall 2015

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