High-risk prostate cancer program: A pan-Canadian precision medicine driven opportunity for global impact

Improving outcomes for patients with high-risk prostate cancer through precision oncology

A research team that includes clinician-scientists in Ontario and British Columbia will seek to improve outcomes for patients with high-risk prostate cancer thanks to funding from the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network’s pan-Canadian Project Program.

Led by Drs. Neil Fleshner (UHN) and Martin Gleave (UBC), the team is using Network funding to compile a large dataset of high-risk prostate cancer patients, linking genomic data with detailed clinical information. They will then use this data to identify patterns that can help predict which patients require more aggressive treatment and which may benefit from less intensive interventions.

The dataset will not only help the team make discoveries that inform future treatment decisions, but will also provide a valuable resource for other researchers studying prostate cancer progression and response to therapy.

“Our goal is to better understand why some patients respond well to treatment while others do not,” says Dr. Fleshner. “By studying whole genome and transcriptome data alongside clinical outcomes, we can identify subgroups of patients with similar tumour characteristics and see how they responded to therapy, so we can then tailor treatments accordingly.”

Below is a short Q&A with Drs. Gleave and Fleshner about their project and the importance of Network funding in this area:

MOHCCN: How would you describe your project to a lay audience?

The goal of this project is to understand more about how each person’s prostate cancer is different, particularly those who have higher-risk tumours. We know that some people respond better to treatment, whether it’s surgery or chemotherapy, but we don’t know why this is. This project will allow us to look at the molecular features of over 300 high-risk tumours and look for patterns that can be used to predict which patients require more or less aggressive therapy. 

What do you hope to achieve by the end of the project?

By the end of this project, our team will have compiled a large cohort of patients from across Canada with high-risk tumours. Having the clinical details in addition to the whole genome and whole transcriptome data will be invaluable for not only our research, but for others with an interest in this area. Specifically for this project, we hope to identify subsets of patients who have similar tumours and clinical outcomes. In this way, we can use these findings for risk-stratification of future patients.

Why is this project important? How does it advance precision medicine for cancer? What potential impact could it have on patients?

The majority of patients with prostate cancer benefit from good outcomes, which is great, but it makes it a challenge to study large groups of those with high-risk disease. This project stands to increase the amount of data and information available to study those with more aggressive disease. This is so important, because these patients also require close follow-up and more management options. This research project will help us develop individualized strategies to improve the outcomes from patients with high-risk prostate cancer.

Why is it important for the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network to fund this type of work?

As mentioned above, a collaborative effort is needed to study large cohorts of patients with high-risk prostate cancer. This opportunity is critical for facilitating the cross-Canada networking needed to work with centres across the country to increase representation of high-risk prostate cancer in research. Beyond this, having such robust whole genome and transcriptome data in combination with extensive clinical details allows us to take a closer look at what is really related to tumour progression or response to treatment.