Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research

How do we restore immunity against cancer?   🌟 Dr. David Brooks, Ph.D. explores why our body’s immune system struggles to combat chronic diseases and cancer. At University Health Network, his team is also working to restore patients' immune responses to fight cancer more effectively.   “What I like (about research) is the potential to have the ability to do things that will ultimately impact people and patient care, and make the world a better place.”   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gx2ceA9C Research at UHN The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

Yesterday was a remarkable day as we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the T-cell receptor discovery with a symposium featuring leading immunologists, hosted by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network and University of Toronto. A heartfelt thank you to all who joined us in celebrating this milestone and contributing to the vibrant discussions!

Triple-negative breast cancer is a particular aggressive form of breast cancer, doubling the mortality rate of other types.   These tumour cells can evade immune surveillance by secreting IL-1 beta molecules, which attract microphages to the tumour microenvironment, suppressing the immune response towards the cancer cells.   Dr. Michael Reedijk’s team found two ways to reboot immunity and improve tumour’s response to immunotherapy:   1.     Directly blocking IL-1 beta: https://lnkd.in/gZJ2VFd3 2.     Blocking a protein called caspase-1 that’s involved in producing IL-1 beta: https://lnkd.in/g5DPDv6R   Read more at Research at UHN: https://lnkd.in/giuybwzT   #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth

NHL legend and former Leafs captain Mats Sundin visited Princess Margaret Cancer Centre today! His close friendship with #TeamUHN’s Dr. Jonas Mattsson, Director of Messner Allogeneic Transplant Program, inspired the hockey great to launch his new book at PM. Patients and staff received a signed copy of Sundin’s new book, Home and Away. Thank you for your support and for continuing to inspire hockey fans across generations! 🏒 💙

"It's important that we find more donors of different ethnicities." says Dr. Jonas Mattsson, Director of the Allogenic Transplant Program at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Dr. Jonas Mattsson talks about how stem cell donors save the lives of people with blood cancers. Thousands of Canadians need stem cell transplants every year and many of them rely on donors. Stem cell donor Benjamin Hognestad shares the story of what inspired him to donate his stem cells. https://lnkd.in/gaiTri6r

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has been ranked #1 specialized hospital in Canada by Newsweek World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2025 for its expertise in oncology🎉      The list awards the leading hospitals around the world in 12 medical fields, and are ranked upon an overview of data collected from a worldwide online survey, accreditation scores, and Patient Reported Outcome Measures implementation surveys.    Congratulations to the team for all of your hard work and dedication in providing world-class care to patients 💙 https://lnkd.in/gM-gg5b3

Catching head & neck cancer recurrence early🏥   A team led by Drs. Geoffrey Liu and Daniel De Carvalho, PhD at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM), University Health Network and Dr. Anne-Renee Hartman from Adela, Inc. spot head & neck cancer recurrence 14.9 months earlier than standard clinical procedures. They used a blood test that monitors circulating tumour DNA shed from cancer cells.   https://lnkd.in/gxF8jXz2   “Currently, the majority of the recurrences are not detected until symptoms or physical findings are reported by the patient. By identifying signals of disease prior to clinical presentation or routine imaging, recurrences can be treated earlier and more effectively," says Dr. Liu, Medical Oncologist and Senior Scientist at PM.   The team evaluated a blood test called a molecular residual disease (MRD) test, that can quantify cell free DNA cancer signals to predict and surveil for cancer recurrence. Evaluated in individuals diagnosed with stage I-IVB human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal and HPV-negative head and neck cancer treated at PM, the full study cohort included >1,100 plasma samples collected from >300 patients.   “The test identified disease recurrences up to 14.9 months earlier than the standard of care clinical exam and imaging," says Dr. Liu.   Adela’s MRD test was developed based on a discovery published by our Senior Scientist Dr. Daniel De Carvalho and his team. They found that abundant DNA methylation changes in cancer cells detected in the blood could enable low-cost detection, classification and monitoring of cancer.   Dr. De Carvalho, together with Dr. Scott Bratman of PM and Dr. Anne-Renee Hartman, Maneesh Jain, and David Scheer co-founded biotech company Adela, Inc. with the support from Commercialization at UHN and institutional investors to translate this discovery into the clinic. Since then, Adela has been finetuning the MRD blood test to be tested and validated in clinical settings for its application.   “These strong validation results exemplify the ability of Adela's MRD test to maximize detection of cancer signal in the blood. This single liquid biopsy platform can be applied across cancer types, and we look forward to its impact in other cancer types in the near future," says Dr. De Carvalho, also Chief Scientific Officer of Adela.   -------- Research at UHN Published in Annals of Oncology on Sept 14, 2024.

Curbing cancer cells’ metabolism 🧫   A new study led by Dr. Marianne K. and her team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) University Health Network, discovered that an enzyme, ADO (cysteamine dioxygenase), is critical to keep the balance between the production and elimination of harmful molecules known as reactive oxygen species in cancer cells. The removal of ADO in experimental models curbed cancer cell growth and survival.    https://lnkd.in/gEn6GQHS   Cancer cells can grow and divide uncontrollably, which requires them to develop ways to gain energy and materials they need to sustain their metabolism.   “We became interested in ADO because it’s a versatile enzyme involved in metabolic and regulatory processes, and its high expression is linked to aggressive cancer types and poor patient survival, suggesting it could be a key target for new cancer therapies,” says Dr. Koritzinsky, Senior Scientist at PM.   Cancer cell growth was controlled, and cell death was observed when the team eliminated ADO in experimental models. They found that cellular molecules that were supposed to be broken down by ADO, drove other metabolic processes to create reactive oxygen species, exposing cancer cells to oxidative stress and resulting in cell death.   “We looked at various metabolic pathways to check how the loss of ADO can curb the growing of the cancer,” says Sandy L., first author and former PhD student at the Koritzinsky Lab. “It turned out that ADO can regulate polyamine and proline metabolism to keep the balance in the cells and avoid making too much oxidative toxins.”    “This study reveals the reason why ADO is essential for cancer cell survival and suggests that ADO may represent a novel target with a viable therapeutic window,” says Dr. Koritzinsky.   ------ Published in Science Advances on Oct 2, 2024. First author: Sandy Lee Study funded by The Terry Fox Research Institute, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, Government of Canada #drugtarget #cancermetabolism #cancerresearch #cancertherapy

New therapeutic target for kidney cancer 🎯   In a study led by Dr. Laurie Ailles at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM), University Health Network, researchers discovered that an epigenetic regulatory protein called PRMT1 is critical for kidney cancer cell growth. Inhibiting PRMT1 disrupts RNA metabolism, leading to DNA damage, cancer cell death, and tumour shrinkage:   https://lnkd.in/gtRFPwqi   Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer and accounts for the majority of kidney cancer-related deaths.   “We’ve known for some time that distortions in oxygen sensing commonly occur in this type of malignancy. However, this alone is not sufficient to induce cancer,” says Dr. Ailles, Senior Scientist at PM. “More recent evidence indicates that distorted epigenetic regulation can be another key growth driver for this disease.”   The epigenetic regulatory proteins use a complex network of chemical tags to coordinate chromatin remodeling, gene activity, and genome stability.   To search for new therapeutic targets, the research team tested a library of chemical compounds that inhibit a spectrum of epigenetic proteins in experimental models of ccRCC. The study identified PRMT1, or type 1 protein arginine methyltransferase, as a critical protein that the tumour relies on for growth.   The team found that PRMT1 promotes tumour growth by primarily interacting with RNA-binding proteins, which are essential for mRNA metabolic activites including preventing the formation RNA/DNA hybrids called R-loops that can destabilize the genetic materials.   “When PRMT1 is inhibited, kidney tumour cells exhibit signs of R-loop accumulation, genetic stress, DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, and ultimately cell death,” says Dr. Joe Walton, a postdoctoral researcher in the team and first author of the study.   “Our study adds to the growing body of research connecting RNA metabolism and the DNA damage response, and it identifies PRMT1 as a promising therapeutic target in this deadly cancer type.”   ---------- Research at UHN Published on Nature Communications on Sept 19, 2024. Study funded by The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the Cancer Research Society and Ontario Institute for Cancer Research through funding provided by the Government of Ontario. #kidneycancer #drugdiscovery #cancerresearch #cancertherapy

Cancer doesn't affect all communities equally, and the disparities are even greater for Indigenous peoples globally. This #MissionMonday, I'm diving into the critical challenges Indigenous communities face in cancer care, prevention, and early diagnosis—and how addressing these gaps is a step towards health equity for all. At Princess Margaret, we’re proud of our work with Indigenous Patient Navigators and partnerships across Canada, but the journey to better outcomes for Indigenous peoples continues. Let’s work together to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, has access to the cancer care they need. #NDTR