Vancouver Prostate Centre Quarterly Newsletter Issue 2 溫哥華前列腺中心季刊

Vancouver Prostate Centre Quarterly Newsletter Issue 2 View this email in a browser

ISSUE 2

Terry Fox Run More than Two Decades On and Going Strong Thirty-five years ago Terry Fox lost his battle to cancer. The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning. To date, over $650 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world. The Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC) participates annually in that run and the ties between the groups are growing stronger year by year. Since 1998 close to $28 million from Terry’s legacy, through the Terry Fox Foundation and the Terry Fox Research Institute, has been directed to the VPC. Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the most common male cancer in North America and the second leading cause of cancer deaths, and these funds go directly towards ongoing research to decrease the incidence of the disease. Because its incidence rises dramatically with age, the occurrence of PCa will continue to outpace other cancers based on Canada’s aging population. While advanced PCa is initially controlled with hormonal therapies targeting the androgen receptor (AR) pathway, recurrence occurs due to emergence of lethal castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). Recently the VPC was funded to further preclinical and clinical studies which have helped define the complex interplay of existing and accruing genomic aberration that are supported by innate adaptive responses to drive evolution of treatment resistant disease. CRPC progression is the main obstacle to improving survival and the central focus of the recently funded Terry Fox New Frontiers Program on Targeting the Adaptive Molecular Landscape in CRPC. This funding is an ideal example of how team science accelerates discovery of underlying mechanisms of resistance, leads to development of new therapies, and translates laboratory research into clinical practice. There was much positive feedback about the application from the international review panel: “This is an exciting application from a world-leading research team with a proven track record in CRPC. Their contributions in this field are truly outstanding, and it is difficult to identify another group with similar standing in this area. The proposed work is a balanced portfolio of innovative basic, translational, and clinical work. The projects synergize well, and the cores are well integrated into the work”. The team, now armed with this envelope of funding, is more inspired than ever to reach their goals. New Researchers Dr. Faraz Hach The VPC is delighted to welcome Dr. Faraz Hach to his recently appointed role of Senior Research Scientist. Dr. Hach’s main focus is the field of bioinformatics, specifically computational genomics and biomolecular sequence analysis in the context of cancer research. His research involves designing unique, high performance algorithms for analyzing large amounts of data generated through sequencing of DNA. Recently, he has developed a computational tool for finding particular mutations from liquid biopsies in collaboration with the VPC’s Dr. Collins and Dr. Sahinalp. He is also focused on developing computational methods to better understand the progression of cancer from tissue and liquid biopsy sequencing data. His earlier work on genomic sequence mapping has been used in the in the 1000 Genomes Project to find an integrated map of structural changes in more than 2500 genomes. He is also a pioneer in making genomic data more accessible through compression and is part of theInternational Cancer Genome Consortium PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Project. This international group's goal is to obtain a comprehensive picture of genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic changes across different tumour type and sub-types. Dr. Hach’s research has been internationally recognized with number of awards and honors. These include the Ian Lawson Van Toch Memorial Award for an outstanding paper at the 20th Annual International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology and the Governor General’s Gold Medal for the best doctoral thesis award from Simon Fraser University in 2014. Welcome aboard, Faraz. Sharing Our Knowledge  The VPC has had a fruitful quarter with publications. The highlight of our work was in Nature: Discovery of a Metastatic Immune Escape Mechanism Initiated by the Loss of Expression of the Tumour Biomarker Interleukin-33. Other work included pieces in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology (Histologic Grading of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma Can Be Further Optimized: Analysis of the Relative Prognostic Strength of Individual Architectural Patterns in 1275 Patients From the Canary Retrospective Cohort) and two publications in the Journal of Urology: Testosterone Therapy Can be Given to Men with No Concern that it will Promote Prostate Cancer Development or Progression: Con. AR-V7 transcripts in whole blood RNA of patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer correlate with response to Abiraterone acetate. VPC researchers also published in four other journals: BioMed Central Nephrology: Relationship of clusterin with renal inflammation and fibrosis after the recovery phase of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Disease: A diagnosis of prostate cancer and pursuit of active surveillance is not followed by weight loss: potential for a teachable moment. Prostate: Loss of expression of AZGP1 is associated with worse clinical outcomes in a multi-institutional radical prostatectomy cohort. News, Events and Kudos We want you to know what is happening at our Centre. Through some of the most ground- breaking research and clinical care we have amassed several achievements in the last 6 months. Congratulations to Dr. Larry Goldenberg, recipient of the prestigious 2016 Canadian Urological Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you to all our sponsors, participants and volunteers for helping us raise over $570,000 through the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life! Year after year, we have witnessed stronger and more passionate support to ensure that those at the Vancouver Prostate Centre continue to do what they do best: save lives and develop new treatments for men and their families affected by prostate cancer. Wearing Plaid for Dad The Prostate Cancer Canada “Wear Plaid for Dad” 2016 fundraiser took place on June 17th. The Centre’s scientists, students and staff showed our support.

Employment Work at the Vancouver Prostate Centre Learn more Make A Difference Help the Vancouver Prostate Centre fund research to find better treatments and a cure. Learn more

Prostate Clinic (Patient queries) Gordon & Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre 6th Floor, 2‌775 Laurel Street Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver, BC V5Z 1‌M9 Phone: 6‌04 875 5003 Prostate Research Facility Jack Bell Research Centre 2‌660 Oak Street Vancouver, BC V6H 3‌Z6 Phone: 6‌04 875 4818 Fax: 6‌04 875 5654

Copyright © 2016 Vancouver Prostate Centre, All rights reserved.

2016 Prostate Cancer Statistics from Canadian Cancer Society 前列腺癌統計

For more information and support:

• Contact Prostate Cancer Information Service to talk to an information specialist.
• Find a support group near you.
• Watch our Expert Angle webinars.

Focus group meeting on advanced prostate cancer 關於晚期前列腺癌 焦點小組會議

Astellas Pharma is working to organize a focus group meeting on advanced prostate cancer, which will hear from caregivers and men living with the disease. We are hoping you may be willing to ask your membership if they are interested in applying to participate.

This focus group will be held on November 16 in Vancouver. Those who are interested will be contacted for a brief screening discussion. Participants who are chosen will be reimbursed for mileage and parking/taxis, and will receive an honorarium of $125 for their time. If they elect not to receive this, a donation in this amount will be made to PCC or PCFBC on their behalf. There will be one session for caregivers, and one for men living with prostate cancer. We expect that each session will take approximately 2 hours.

The objectives of the focus group are to better understand the following:

·         The patient and caregiver’s experience following a diagnosis of prostate cancer

o   Their experience at each stage

o   The medical professionals with whom they have spoken/dealt

·         Their most trusted and valuable sources of information and support

o   How did they access this information?

o   Challenges/barriers they have encountered to identifying and accessing those resources

o   How individuals overcame or managed these challenges

·         The discussion with respect to treatment choice

o   Who ultimately decided on the treatment(s)? 

o   What was the patient and caregiver’s role in these decisions?

·         Their suggestions for improvements to the type, quality and delivery of information/support

No personal information will be divulged or shared with Astellas; the process is strictly confidential.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 416-425-9143, extension 208, or my colleague Evelyn Yallen at extension 202.

Thanks,

James Thayer
Senior Account Executive  
Energi P R

November to March Prostate Health meetings 十一月到三月前列腺健康專題講座

列治文華人前列腺癌支援網絡，每月一次（第二週星期四從下午七時至八時半）在列治文公共圖書館二樓（市中心公眾泳池對面, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC V6Y 1R8）舉辦免費聚會，邀請專業人仕主辦中/英語醫療與健康講座， 請到圖書館網站 www.yourlibrary.ca/events，並使用你的圖書館卡進行登記。如果沒有圖書卡請致電 604-231-6413 (英語) 604-231-6462(中文) 報名。

前列腺健康講座由列治文華人前列腺癌支援網絡統籌，並由列治文公立圖書館、卑斯省前列腺癌基金會、加拿大防癌協會共同協辦。現場提供大量免費中英文健康小冊，歡迎取閱。

查詢活動更新 請到 http://richmondprostate.blogspot.ca/ 或打電話 604-836-6423。我們講英語，普通話和廣東話幫助您了解良性前列腺疾病與前列腺癌的病徵、預防、治療、康復與最新醫療硏究等資訊，交流經驗與分享感受。

列治文公立圖書館專題健康講座:

2016年11月10日，週四下午七時至八時半

許加玲女士  (Ms. Crystal Hoi) -  加拿大防癌協會 華人項目主任

粵語講解 - 加拿大防癌協會的華語服務 (Chinese Program of Canadian Cancer Society) 

2016年12月8日，週四下午七時至八時半

劉立儀註冊營養師 (Ms. Priscilla Lau, RD, MS, IBCLC, Registered Dietitian)

粵語講解 - 飲食迷思與癌症的預防和治療 (Diet myth related to cancer prevention and treatment)

2017年1月12日，週四下午七時至八時半

Andy Leung, 加拿大精神健康協會社區教練 (Bounce Back Community Coach, Canadian Mental Health Association)

粵語講解 - 重整旗鼓計劃 (Bounce Back Program) 克服情緒低落和抑鬱

2017年2月9日，週四下午七時至八時半 - 特別邀請夫婦一起參加本講座

          February 9, 2017 (Thursday) 7pm-8:30pm Couples are welcome to attend together.

Dr. Richard Wassersug, Vancouver Prostate Centre

英語講解 粵語翻譯 - The Natural History & Psychological Reality of Prostate Cancer

2017年3月9日，週四下午七時至八時半

夏梦迪註冊營養師 (Ms. Mengdi Xia, MScA, Registered Dietitian)

國語講解 - 飲食迷思與癌症的預防和治療 (Diet myth related to cancer prevention and treatment)

  列治文中信中心前列腺健康講座

一小時半概覽式中文前列腺健康講座歡迎您，報名參加電話: (604) 285-0552。

2016年11月04日 週五10:30am-12pm 粵語講座   列治文公眾市場二樓中信中心   (前列腺疾病)

2016年11月18日 週五10:30am-12pm 粵語講座   列治文公眾市場二樓中信中心   (前列腺癌)

2016年11月25日 週五10:30am-12pm 粵語講座   列治文公眾市場二樓中信中心   (预約私人面談)

Cancer Recovery Exercise Program 癌症康復鍛煉計劃

Please click on the flyer to enlarge. For a package deal, please call Amy at 605-569-3390 or email info@pbet.ca

Advance Care Planning - by TrueNTH 預先護理計劃

Advance Care Planning is a time for you to reflect on your values and wishes, and to let others know your future health and personal care preferences so that they can speak for you, if you can't speak for yourself. Read more at https://acp.truenth.ca/