Cancer and IRCUS: Hope all Around Thanks to Five Outstanding Discoveries
Research is definitely going through an optimistic phase at the Université de Sherbrooke Cancer Research Institute (IRCUS). Discover, now or again, five promising breakthroughs from our laboratories, which could revolutionize both cancer screening and treatment.
Research on cancer is critical as it allows us to better understand this complex disease affecting each year millions of lives. Through scientific innovation, IRCUS can develop more effective screening and treatment tools, while improving the quality of care for patients. It also contributes to training the next generation of scientists and professionals who are key to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.
By investing in world-class research, IRCUS aims not only to reduce the impact of cancer, but also to transform the experience of affected people at each step of their journey.
Genetic scissors to outsmart pediatric cancers
Alexandre Maréchal, PhD, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS and the Faculty of Sciences, in collaboration with Raymund Wellinger, PhD (retired) and Pierre-Étienne Jacques, PhD, Professors and Researchers at IRCUS and the Faculty of Sciences
The research team of Prof. Maréchal conducted a study to accelerate the innovative treatments of hard-to-treat cancers, which are often pediatric cancers, such as sarcomas and osteosarcomas. These cancers use an alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanism enabling unlimited cellular proliferation.
The discovery? Using a huge public database (Cancer Dependency Map) leveraging the CRISPR genetic scissors technology, several genes essential for the survival of ALT cancer cells have been identified. What catches the team's attention: the SUB1 protein, involved in telomere stability, has proven to be a very promising new target to exploit.
The next step? Develop new effective therapeutic strategies for pediatric ALT cancers with poor prognosis by leveraging the new knowledge gained on SUB1.
See the article published in PNAS scientific journal
A simple urinary test to detect bladder cancer
François-Michel Boisvert, PhD, Scientific director at IRCUS, Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, in collaboration with Claudio Jeldres, MD, urologic oncologist, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
For this remarkable breakthrough, the two specialists pooled their expertise to develop a quick and available test, able to detect a bladder cancer in the urine. In particular, this test could detect a recurrence without requiring multiple cystoscopies throughout the year. Cystoscopies are invasive procedures performed by a urologist and consist in the introduction of a tube equipped with a camera and a light source in the urethra.
The discovery? Finding a combination of four markers (proteins) in a urine sample lets the physicians know whether a person suffers from a bladder cancer or not. The results that were obtained led to the filing of a patent and the continuation of its development.
The next step? This innovative screening test is currently being validated in a population of 1000 persons from various regions of the world, through a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Université de Lyon, and Berlin University.
To learn more about this discovery (in French)
Cycling between two chemotherapy treatments to knock out cancer
Eléonor Riesco, PhD, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS and at the Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences in collaboration with Dr. Michel Pavic, oncologist, Director of medical research in oncology at IRCUS and Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
With an innovating clinical study conducted with metastatic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, the research team of Prof. Riesco aimed at understanding how the immune system is responding to aerobic exercise. This topic raises a great interest, as it appears that the immune response enhanced by this type of physical activity could help fight cancer.
The discovery? Aerobic exercise sessions result in a rapid increase of the number of immune cells in the blood flow with characteristics that are critical to eliminate cancer. The immune response enhanced by this type of exercise might have what is needed to help fight cancer.
The next step? A clinical study is now required to establish if a combination of aerobic exercises can both stimulate the immune system and improve the response to treatments to prevent a cancer recurrence.
Learn more on the next step of this discovery (in French)
Read the article in the scientific journal Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health
A promising injectable therapy for several metastatic cancers
Étienne Rousseau, MD, nuclear medicine specialist, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS, and at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, in collaboration with Brigitte Guérin, PhD, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS, and at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
The goal of this very promising nuclear imaging clinical study is to assess the proportion of patients with four different metastatic cancers (esophagus, stomach, bile duct, and pancreas) who could benefit from a new injectable precision radiotherapy treatment.
The discovery? More than 12% of patients whose medical imaging results were obtained with the 68Ga-PSMA PET tracer, introduced in clinical practice by Prof. Guérin in Sherbrooke, could receive the 177Lu-PSMA treatment currently available in the province of Quebec for prostate cancer.
The next step? A major source of financing will be required to conduct the clinical study that will determine the efficacy of this treatment for these cancers with a low survival rate (less than 30% chance of survival 5 years after diagnosis).
A crystal ball to choose the best treatment against aggressive brain cancers
Claire Dubois, PhD, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS, and at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, in collaboration with David Fortin, MD, neurosurgeon and neuro-oncologist, Professor and Researcher at IRCUS, and at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Developing a tool to guide oncologists when selecting the best chemotherapy treatment for patients with an aggressive brain cancer: this is what the two specialists have achieved by combining their know-how.
This innovative tool consists in growing tumour fragments from each patient on egg membranes in the laboratory and then testing several treatments in order to select the most effective one.
The discovery? This new fast and reliable decision tool allowed the researchers to predict with great accuracy the patients’ response to the chemotherapy they had received. Considering the rapid progression of aggressive cancers, being able to quickly select and offer the best treatment would be a significant breakthrough.
The next step? A clinical study has been planned to test this promising tool in real time as it provides a result within seven days, a timeline that is compatible with standard care in the patient’s journey.
Learn more about this discovery (in French)
About the Université de Sherbrooke Cancer Research Institute (IRCUS)
IRCUS mission, its “raison d’être”, is to develop synergistic and innovative interdisciplinary research to reduce the impact of cancer on people who are affected by the disease.
The research projects carried out at IRCUS allow for a better understanding, detection and treatment of all types of cancers, and for improving the care and services provided to people affected by cancer.
In addition to performing highly skilled research, IRCUS trains the new generation of students and professionals who are essential in the fight against tomorrow’s cancers. It stands out with a distinctive transformative impact on all the key steps of the care and services continuum in oncology, including prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, end of life, and life after cancer. This integrated approach enables the significant contribution of the Institute to each and every step of the cancer patients’ journey.
UdeS, a key player in Canadian research
The harmonious union of partnership, mutualization, and interdisciplinarity is a strength unique to the UdeS. Learn about this innovative approach of building knowledge that has propelled the UdeS into the ranks of Canada's most research-intensive universities.