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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