Scientists One Step Closer to Personalizing Cancer Care


Researchers at OCI/PMH’s Drug Development Program have designed a simple genetic test that can determine if chemotherapy will be an effective treatment for colon cancer patients.
Dr. Malcolm Moore, Dr. Steven Gallinger and Christine Ribic examined tissue samples from 570 colon cancer patients, and determined that 17% of patients had a specific type of mutation in their tumour (called high-frequency microsatellite instability). The benefit from chemotherapy was restricted to the 83% of patients who did not have this mutation.

“Chemotherapy is very invasive,” says Dr. Moore, “so being able to predict which patients will benefit from it will spare a lot of patients the distress of this type of treatment.”

This finding represents an important step towards providing individualized care for cancer patients.

N Engl J Med. 2003 Jul 17;349(3):247-57
[PubMed abstract]

Institute: OCI/PMH
Division: Experimental Therapeutics
Priority Platform: Genes, Proteins and People

Visit the PMH Drug Development Program's website

Molecule Essential for Immune System Cross-Talk


A team of researchers including Drs. Tak Mak of AMDI/OCI/PMH and Pamela Ohashi of OCI/PMH used mice lacking a molecule called ICOSL (inducible costimulator ligand) to shed new light on immune system function.


Mice lacking ICOSL produced fewer antibodies to fight infections, and their T-cells failed to reach maturity. Mature T-cells are the leaders of the immune system, and they play an important role in directing the activity of other immune cells.


“For the body to launch a successful attack against viruses and other infectious agents, it is essential that our immune cells are able to properly communicate with each other,” explains Dr. Mak, “and ICOSL appears to be an important part of that communication network.”


Nat Immunol. 2003 Aug;4(8):765-72
[PubMed abstract]

Institute: AMDI/OCI/PMH
Division: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Priority Platform: Genes, Proteins and People

Protein Key for Brain Development

New research from TWRI/TWH has revealed that a protein called MBD3 (methyl CpG binding domain protein 3) may play a key role in the development of the nervous system.

Dr. James Eubanks and PhD student Ben Jung used advanced biochemical techniques to show that MBD3 was more prevalently expressed in the embryonic brain of an animal model than it was in the adult brain. They also showed that the levels of the protein declined in specific areas of the brain (hippocampus and cortex) as the embryos matured.

Until now, scientists were unaware that the MBD family of proteins had a role in anything other than regulating gene expression.
“This specific pattern of expression throughout development suggests that MBD3 has an important role in neuronal development,” says Dr. Eubanks.

J Neurobiol. 2003 May;55(2):220-32
[PubMed abstract]

Institute: TWRI/TWH
Division: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Priority Platform: Genes, Proteins and People

New Faces in Research

Jeffrey Siewerdsen, PhD


An expert in imaging physics, digital x-ray imaging and image-guided procedures, Dr. Jeffrey Siewerdsen is the newest scientist to join the Division of Medical Physics at OCI/PMH.

As a principal investigator in the Image-Guided Therapy (IGTx) Group, Dr. Siewerdsen is working to develop innovative imaging technologies for image-guided procedures. He was a member of the team that pioneered the use of flat-panel (FP) detectors in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for guiding therapeutic procedures.

The FP-CBCT system is currently being developed at OCI/PMH and three other hospitals in the USA, Britain and the Netherlands.
“Although CBCT has had a profound impact on how we deliver therapy and on what we can do for our patients, it really is only just the beginning,” says Dr. Siewerdsen. “This technology is going to flourish in a wide range of image-guided procedures, including orthopedic and neurosurgery, and across interventional radiology.”

Dr. Siewerdsen was recently awarded the 2002 Sylvia Fedoruk Prize for best paper published in the field of Medical Physics.

Read more about Dr. Siewerdsen in the Summer issue of Net Results.

Breaking News from UHN Research

OCI/PMH Scientist Winner of Prestigious Award


Dr. Ian Tannock of OCI/PMH is the 2003 recipient of the O. Harold Warwick Prize. Awarded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the prize recognizes scientists whose research has had a major impact on cancer control in Canada.
Dr. Tannock introduced pain relief and quality of life as effective measures in clinical trials, and his current research focuses on improving the outcome of chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients.

New Cancer Research Awards Top $2.7M

UHN Research extends its congratulations to five UHN researchers who together won over $2.7M from the Ontario Cancer Research Network (OCRN) to accelerate research on promising new cancer therapies.


The funding will support Drs. Fei-Fei Liu (nasopharyngeal cancer), John Kim (rectal cancer), Robert Bristow (prostate and pancreatic cancer), Jean Gariépy (proteins that kill cancer), and Brenda Gallie (eye cancer) who won two awards, one of which is in collaboration with researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children.

CIHR Awards $7.4M to UHN Researchers

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) recently announced over $7.4M in new funding for the research programs of UHN researchers across OCI/PMH, TGRI/TGH and TWRI/TWH.
CIHR is Canada’s premier federal agency for health research.

Research Fact

In 2002-2003, UHN researchers published a total of 974 research papers—an average of nearly 3 a day, 7 days a week. Try as we might, Net Results express can't begin to keep up!

Kudos to all of our researchers for their productivity.