Développement d'une plateforme de médecine de précision pour le cancer de la prostate métastatique résistant à la castration
Using liquid biopsies to accelerate precision oncology for advanced prostate cancers
An early-career clinician-scientist in Montreal is hoping to accelerate precision oncology for patients diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer thanks to new funding from the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN).
Dr. April Rose, a staff Medical Oncologist at the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital and a Principal Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, will use her new MOHCCN Clinician-Scientist Award to expand the use of blood tests to identify patients who could benefit from precision therapies.
“Precision therapies, which target tumours with specific DNA mutations driving their growth, have been shown to improve survival rates in men with metastatic prostate cancer,” explains Dr. Rose. “Unfortunately, identifying these mutations often requires invasive and painful procedures, limiting access to these life-saving treatments. In this context, making simple blood tests that allow us to determine which mutations are present in the metastatic tumours – without needing to resort to invasive or painful biopsies – could be a way to increase survival and quality of life for these patients.”
The blood tests Dr. Rose is working on are also known as liquid biopsies, a cutting-edge technology that allows for the detection of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream. In preliminary studies, Dr. Rose and her team have demonstrated that liquid biopsies could be used to identify patients that would benefit from targeted therapies. This new project will build on this success by enrolling patients in a multi-center study to further evaluate the impact of liquid biopsies on patient outcomes. The ultimate goal is to determine if these tests can improve access to precision therapies, leading to longer and better-quality lives for men with mPC.
In addition to this important goal, the project also tackles one of the key challenges in treating drug-resistant prostate cancer: mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) gene. The AR gene plays a crucial role in the progression of prostate cancer, and its mutations are often associated with poor outcomes. Dr. Rose's team is developing new models of patient-derived drug-resistant prostate cancer cells to test novel AR-targeted therapies.
"We hope that this research will lead to new treatments for men with drug-resistant mPC and improved access to this next generation of precision therapies," says Dr. Rose.
As part of her award, Dr. Rose will receive $225,000 from the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network over the next three years, to be matched by her host institution for a total of $450,000. This funding, as well as the mentorship and connections provided by the Network, will enables the implementation and evaluation of liquid biopsy technologies at hospitals across Montreal, with the potential to expand their use across Canada.
"This project would not be possible without funding from the MOHCCN," Dr. Rose notes. "If we are able to prove that liquid biopsies lead to better outcomes for prostate cancer patients, then we will be in a great position to implement these into routine clinical practice—making them accessible to all patients."
The $225,000 award is for three years and will be matched by the Jewish General Hospital to total $450,000.
