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 Friday,
May 5, 2006
Today, the Northern Cancer Research Foundation (NCRF) granted
$250,000 to Dr. Dimitrios Vergidis, the Chief of Oncology
at Regional Cancer Care at the Thunder Bay Regional Health
Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) for unique research to identify better
treatment methods for cancer patients.
Dedicated solely to Northwestern Ontario, the NCRF provides
funding for cancer treatment, patient education and awareness,
and to improve the research and successful collaborations
with other leading centres. With these grants, the cancer
program can enhance service through new treatment and diagnostic
equipment, undertake new research, and create social marketing
campaigns to increase awareness around diseases like colorectal
and prostate cancer. “In the more than ten years since
the NCRF was created, the cancer research program has grown
exponentially,” said Glenn Craig, President and CEO
of the NCRF. “We provided the initial funding for the
research wet lab at the cancer centre in the mid-nineties,
stimulating the interest and activity in cancer research in
our region. This growth has enabled us to retain the calibre
of physicians like Dr. Vergidis, and assist in improving the
care they offer their patients. We are pleased to contribute
$250,000 towards his innovative research, in hopes that it
produces results that can be used to improve treatment.”
Dr. Vergidis has been the Chief of Oncology in the cancer
program for three years, and previously acted as the Head
of Medical Oncology and Haematology, and as the Coordinator
of the Systemic Therapy Network at the Northwestern Ontario
Regional Cancer Centre (currently Regional Cancer Care). Throughout
his medical career, he has undertaken and collaborated on
research studies with partners around the world, with foci
on haematologic, immunologic, and treatment studies. He is
currently working on two independent research studies; one
with Dr. Zach Suntres, Associate Professor at the Northern
Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), studying the associations
between oxidant/antioxidant imbalances and DNA damage, in
hopes of discovering the connection between cancer and levels
of DNA damage. The second study, with his collaborator Dr.
Brian Ross, Associate Professor at NOSM in Neuroscience and
Lipid Biochemistry, concerns volatile organic compounds in
breath as a diagnostic tool for lung cancer.
The first study for $150,000, Blood Concentrations of Oxidants,
Antioxidants, and Markers of DNA Damage in Cancer Patients
of Different Ethnic Backgrounds, will build on the discovery
of significant levels of DNA damage arising from processes
within the body. The development of cancer undergoes a series
of cellular and molecular changes that are mediated by a diversity
of environmental stimuli that lead to DNA damage, and an imbalance
of the oxidants, or ‘free radicals’ (increase
negative processes) and antioxidants (counteract negative
processes) in the body. The aim of the study is to measure
the blood levels of these oxidant and antioxidant imbalances,
and DNA damage in patients with cancer and with healthy volunteers.
The study will cover primary lung, colorectal, and breast
cancers in patients of different ethnic backgrounds (Caucasian
versus Aboriginal). “When we undertake a study like
this, it contributes to the questions we consistently ask
ourselves when treating patients with cancer,” said
Dr. Vergidis. “How do the processes of the body either
counteract or speed up the development of cancer, and what
are the long term effects; so much of the current research
is focusing on these questions, and when we begin to collect
these data into an applicable body of knowledge, we will have
a better idea of those processes contributing to cancer.”
The second study for $97,835, Volatile Organic Compounds
in Breath as a Diagnostic Tool for Lung Cancer, focuses on
the early detection of lung cancer through emitted gases from
lung tumours. With lung cancer responsible for more deaths
than breast, prostate and colorectal cancer combined in Northwestern
Ontario, early detection is the key to a successful outcome.
This study could contribute to a non-invasive screening program,
detecting those volatile tumour markers in the breath. A new
analytical method has emerged called the Selected Ion Flow
Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS), which is particularly suited
to the analysis of volatile compounds in human breath. The
initial study will involve a control group of fifty lung cancer
patients, analyzing blood and breath samples obtained before
and after treatment, and compare them against healthy samples.
The outcomes of this study could provide data to determine
if the SIFT-MS method is effective as a diagnostic aid for
the early detection of lung cancer.
The revolution in cancer research in Northwestern Ontario
continues to build upon itself. In the past few years alone,
provincial, national, and global partnerships have been established,
and projects and initiatives proposed to further the research,
academic, and health sciences agenda in Northwestern Ontario.
“Our research program continues to explore unique opportunities
for teaching, research, and education; especially in light
of the way our system is changing the way we treat people,
and the need for more intensive and personalized care,”
said Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer and
Diagnostics. “Over the last five years, our research
scientists have secured nearly five million dollars in local
and national grant funding, establishing a distinct foundation
for cancer research growth and development.”
The NCRF & Regional Cancer Care are very excited about
the direction in which cancer research continues to move.
With both the new molecular medicine and cancer and cardiac
research centres closer to realization than they’ve
ever been to date, research is driving Northwestern Ontario
in an entirely new direction. As always, and as further exemplified
by today’s announcement, all funds raised by the NCRF
are 100% dedicated to supporting excellence in cancer care
and research in Northwestern Ontario.
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