BC Cancer Foundation 2015 Report to Donors - (Page 9)

PARTNERS IN DISCOVERY POG participant Trish Keating with her husband, John Givins POG: Making Medical History T he BC Cancer Agency's Personalized Onco-Genomics (POG) Program has placed a permanent stamp in medical history. POG led to an incredible breakthrough by identifying a lifesaving treatment option, never before used in cancer medicine. Suffering from aggressive, metastatic colorectal cancer for five years and considered terminal, Trish Keating enrolled in POG under the guidance of her oncologist, Dr. Howard Lim. Genomic sequencing identified a unique protein malfunction as a main driver in Trish's cancer. This protein function paired with an unlikely drug, one commonly used to treat high blood pressure, and never before used to treat cancer. Within five weeks of taking the high blood pressure pill, Trish's cancer was barely detectable in her PET/CT scan. As one of the world's most comprehensive precision medicine research programs, POG is the ultimate collaboration between clinicians and scientists as they incorporate genomic sequencing into real-time clinical decision making for patients with metastatic cancers. POG is 100 per cent funded by the BC Cancer Foundation through donors like Doug Holtby, who gave an incredible $500,000 to ensure more patients like Trish have the opportunity to be a part of this new era in cancer care. This dramatic breakthrough is unique to Trish and her cancer, and it provides further evidence that the POG approach will have a starring role in standard cancer care. Preventing Deadly Hereditary Stomach Cancer S amantha Hansford's research into the genetic risk factors for a deadly hereditary cancer has ensured that families around the world will be spared the loss and suffering that hers has faced for generations. Under the leadership of Dr. David Huntsman, Hansford and fellow researcher Pardeep Kaurah published life-saving findings in the inaugural JAMA Oncology. The study provides the first accurate risk estimates for individuals who carry CDH1 mutations through detailed analysis of 75 families with a strong family history of gastric cancer. Many of Hansford's family members carry the CDH1 genetic mutation that's known to significantly increase one's chance of developing deadly gastric cancer and breast cancer. The new data will be used by genetic counselors across the globe as they help affected families determine which cancerrisk-reducing-and potentially life-saving-options are right for them. This work was made possible through the generosity of BC Cancer Foundation donors Lorne T. Wickerson, Rona M. Dr. David Huntsman with Samantha Hansford Tattersdill and family. BCCANCERFOUNDATION.COM 9 http://www.BCCANCERFOUNDATION.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BC Cancer Foundation 2015 Report to Donors

BC Cancer Foundation 2015 Report to Donors
Contents
Partners in Hope
Partners in Change
Partners in Discovery
Financial Summary

BC Cancer Foundation 2015 Report to Donors