The Terry Fox Research Institute’s Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network Pilots bring together researchers from institutions across the country to harmonize their research methods and create the platforms, infrastructure and governance structures that will help accelerate the implementation of precision medicine in Canada.
Today, this collaborative framework is coming to life through two major pilot projects that are helping accelerate the implementation of precision medicine in Canada. The first of these pilot projects is the Terry Fox Canadian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Network (TF4CN), an innovative network born out of a collaboration between the Terry Fox Research Institute, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto and BC Cancer in Vancouver.
Launched in April of 2017, this network pilot brings together world-renowned researchers working in these top-tier cancer centres with the goal of harmonizing their research and creating the methods, procedures and infrastructure needed to seamlessly share, store and analyze Big Data.
The network currently features cross country collaborative research projects operating simultaneously in four key areas of cancer research, including the genomic profiling of colorectal tumours, immunotherapy for ovarian cancer and molecular imaging for prostate cancers, as well as the development of an IT infrastructure and a data governance strategy that will allow the network to safely share and analyze vast amounts of patient data.
The second pilot project was launched in Montreal in June of 2018. This ambitious network is bringing together researchers from institutions across Montreal to harmonize research methods and share data to better understand why some patients with melanoma and acute leukemia respond to immunotherapy, while others don't. Partners in the Montreal Cancer Consortium (MCC) include: Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC), Centre de Recherche Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Jewish General Hospital (JGH), McGill University, the Université de Montréal, Génome Québec Innovation Centre, and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).
Moving forward, the TFRI's goal is to continue launching regional pilot projects across the country, and eventually start linking them together to create a pan-Canadian network of cancer centres that truly embraces the promise of precision medicine, helping to make it a reality.
Learn More About the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network