Building the next generation
of tools for cancer care

Science

Liquid biopsy

There is an urgent unmet need in oncology. We need personalized medicine tools to diagnose cancer and predict treatment response as soon as possible. We utilize circulating tumor DNA as a marker for cancer load. Circulating DNA is part of the detritus of cells, is ubiquitous in bodily fluids, and can originate from any vascularized tissue. The overall goal is to collect DNA and determine whether or not the DNA is involved in cancer.

To do this, we devise molecular assays and computational pipelines to maximize information gained from each blood draw. Our projects are centered around designing ultra-sensitive cancer detection tools.

Investigator-initiated trials

Investigator-Initiated Trials (IITs) are clinical studies conceived and led by academic researchers rather than industry sponsors, enabling exploration of innovative treatments and clinically relevant questions. Our team at the CRCHUM develops IITs that integrate genomic and transcriptomic biomarker analyses using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and liquid biopsies. In collaboration with translational research teams, we evaluate therapeutic regimens for lung, head and neck, and skin cancers in neoadjuvant and advanced settings.