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.
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