Breast Cancer Clinical Trials in Canada

The Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN) is a national network of cancer centres that pursue collaborative cancer research in precision medicine (an emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention that considers individual variability in DNA, environment and lifestyle) to accelerate the discovery of innovations and improve the health outcomes for cancer patients Read Less

The investigators propose to use clinically validated patient avatar technology ("PDXovo") that can test multiple drugs against patients' cancers to identify the most promising systemic therapy for each individual. Read Less

This study is being done to answer the following question: Can testing breast cancer for DNA abnormalities or "biomarkers" help predict which patients are most likely to be helped by certain treatments? The pre-study screening is being done to test a sample of blood (or tumour tissue) for biomarkers to see if patients can participate in the study Read Less

Severe muscle loss in patients with cancer has been associated with increased physical disability, extended hospitalization, infectious and noninfectious complications, increased risk of severe toxicity during cancer treatment, poor quality of life and shortened survival. Adequate protein is key to sustain muscle mass and overall health. However, current nutritional recommendations are not specific or evidence-based. The aim of this project is to determine the protein needs of patients with colorectal or breast cancer. Protein needs will be determined using a novel, non-invasive approach. Our results will inform nutritional recommendations and guidelines with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for people with cancer. Read Less

The most common cancer affecting Canadian women is breast cancer, with an estimated 1 in 8 women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Improved screening and treatment have decreased mortality of breast cancer patients, however 14% of cancer-related deaths in Canadian women are still due to breast cancer. Common treatments for breast cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiation therapy (RT). Despite recent improvements in treatment and preventative screenings, 20% of breast cancer patients will develop local disease recurrence or another ipsilateral primary breast cancer. . The optimal treatment of recurrent or new primary breast cancers for patients who have undergone prior radiotherapy (RT) is not well-defined. Common treatment approaches consist of mastectomy or a second breast conserving surgery (BCS) with whole or partial breast reirradiation (reRT). In the past, mastectomy has been the preferred treatment for recurrent breast cancer due to concerns over serious acute and late skin toxicities that may result from additional reRT. Many of these late skin toxicities, such as fibrosis, are chronic and can result in patients experiencing pain or other negative impacts to quality of life (QOL). Read Less

Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of cancer through the use of targeted therapies, but what works for one patient might not work for another patient. Certain drugs are now being developed that target specific molecules in the body that are believed to be part of the disease. Biomarkers are specific characteristics of the cancer that may help provide prognostic information (e.g. how well patients will be regardless of the treatments given) or help predict sensitivity or resistance to a specific treatment. The study will collect archival tumor samples (previously collected biopsy or surgical tumor samples) to provide biomarker data about a patient's cancer, which may help their physicians to identify which clinical trials of new drug treatments may be most appropriate for the patient in the future and may also guide the use of approved treatments that may potentially benefit the patient. Another goal of this study is to develop a province-wide registry of targeted gene sequencing testing results that will be made available to cancer researchers. Additional tumour tissue and blood samples collected from all study participants will also be stored in a biobank at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research for future research. The study will also look at linking data from this study to other health care databases to further collect information about the health care the patients received, including medical tests, clinic visits, or procedures both before and after participating in this study. Having more information about patient health to relate to the DNA sequences may provide new insights into cancer and its treatment. Read Less

This study will primarily identify longitudinal associations between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and cognitive function pre- (baseline) to post-chemotherapy (\~3 months). This will be a prospective study of 50 BCS. We hypothesize that breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who have higher levels of CRF at baseline will have significantly improved measures of attention, executive function, and memory post-chemotherapy. In addition, the exploratory aims will examine the longitudinal associations between physical activity (PA) and cognitive function from pre- to post-chemotherapy and explore the associations between inflammatory and non-inflammatory biomarkers and CRF with cognitive function. Read Less

Eligible women will receive neoadjuvant single fraction radiotherapy followed by surgery performed after one year Read Less

Phase 2 randomized controlled study using a waitlist control group. The study also has a single arm pre-post test 12-week chair-based exercise arm for those who have received the geriatric assessment in the older adults with cancer clinic (geriatric oncology clinic). Study Duration 2.5 years Study Agent/ Intervention/ Procedure Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Management (GAM) combined with online chair-based exercise (CBE) and health education for 12 weeks. Read Less

Radiation therapy (RT) is a key component in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer. However, patients may experience significant side effects. Patients can accurately self-report side effects from RT and these patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can direct communication between patient and healthcare provider (HCP), and facilitate joint decision making. Patients state that using mobile phone applications (apps) to collect PROs (mPROs) is easily incorporated into their daily routines, allowing them to engage at a time and pace that suits them. When mPRO collection is combined with remote symptom monitoring by HCPs, these systems result in improvements in symptom control and quality of life. Currently, patients receiving RT are seen by a Radiation Oncologist once per week during RT and once every few months after RT has finished. Recent evaluations indicate that patients and physicians consider the number of visits to be too frequent during RT, and too infrequent immediately after RT. This research will use weekly mPROs (remotely monitored by RT HCP) to determine if a patient needs (or wants) to be seen by a RT HCP during and/or immediately after RT. Using mPROs to optimize RT patient assessment processes will ensure patients are seen if and when required. For a patient, this could result in reduced time and costs at the hospital. For the physician, resources could be re-allocated to improve access to RT services. Using mPROs after RT has the potential for earlier treatment of side effects, which has been linked to improved survival and quality of life. Read Less

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-guided ultrasound stimulated microbubble treatment to enhance radiation effects in humans receiving external beam radiotherapy delivered using a LINAC (linear accelerator) radiation therapy device. Read Less

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy and response of novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-guided ultrasound stimulated microbubble treatment to enhance radiation effects in humans receiving external beam radiotherapy delivered using a LINAC (linear accelerator) radiation therapy device. Read Less