Clinical Team
Dr. Lillian Siu, CGP Former Director, and Dr. Phillipe Bedard, CGP Executive Director, discussing patient data
The Cancer Genomics Program, under the direction of Dr. Lillian Siu, Dr. Philippe Bedard and Dr. Suzanne Kamel-Reid, works with medical oncologists at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to provide molecular profiling services for their patients free of charge. The team consists of oncologists, research scientists, research coordinators, research assistants, and lab technicians dedicated in advancing research in cancer genomics. The Cancer Genomics Program, under the direction of Dr. Lillian Siu, Dr. Philippe Bedard and Dr. Tracy Stockley, works with medical oncologists at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to provide molecular profiling services for their patients free of charge. The team consists of oncologists, research scientists, research coordinators, research assistants, and lab technicians dedicated in advancing research in cancer genomics.
The Role of Oncologists
Medical oncologists and their fellows identify suitable patients for profiling and approach them directly in their clinics. Once the testing is complete, the profiling results are returned to the oncologists directly, and shared with the patient.
The oncologists may utilize the results to guide treatment by identifying patients who may benefit from a targeted treatment. Oncologists involved in the molecular profiling initiative meet regularly at a Genomics Tumor Board to discuss any complex cases, and review new topics related to cancer genomics.
Bringing in the Community
In 2016, CGP launched the Ontario-wide Targeted Nucleic Acid Evaluation (OCTANE) study, an initiative that is jointly supported by the Princess Margaret and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). OCTANE’s mission is to expand the capacity of NGS testing for advanced solid tumor patients across Ontario while creating a repository of blood and tumor samples from these patients for future research.
OCTANE initially activated in 5 sites: Princess Margaret (PM), London Health Sciences Centres (LHSC), Kingston General Hospital Health Sciences Centre (KHSCGH), The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), and Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) in Hamilton. At the end of 2018, a call for new participating centres was released. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital were selected and activated the trial at their sites in October 2019 and February 2020, respectively.
