The Canadian Cancer Society and the McPeak-Sirois Group team up to improve metastatic breast cancer research and care
Montreal, March 9, 2022. -The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the McPeak-Sirois Group (the Group), one of the largest breast cancer clinical research consortia in Canada, are pleased to announce that they have joined forces to help grow the Quebec Metastatic Breast Cancer Registry (the Registry) initiated by investigators of the Group’s executive scientific committee.
The main goal of the Registry is to develop a resource to advance metastatic breast cancer research and care by providing researchers with access to crucial patient data. The Registry will essentially facilitate data collection and sharing in a way that has never been done before in Canada, which could improve the situation of people with breast cancer and save more lives.
Launched in 2021, the pilot phase of the Registry is coordinated by the McPeak-Sirois Group under the responsibility of Dr. Sarkis Meterissian, Professor of Surgery and Oncology at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), and financially supported by four pharmaceutical companies and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. It also has the full support of the Quebec Cancer Screening Program run by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and has already recruited 100 patients at the MUHC, the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), and the CHU de Québec-Université Laval.
According to Dr. Meterissian, the main initiator of the project, “this Registry is a unique opportunity to both learn how patients with metastatic breast cancer are treated in Quebec and to obtain concrete evidence of the effectiveness of new therapies. It will provide essential data for conducing new clinical trials and is a major step forward in improving breast cancer therapies in Quebec”.
With CCS providing $2.5 million in financial support over five years, the Registry will first be extended to the seven other member hospitals of the consortium, and any new member will be invited to participate. The Registry will then be open to all types of breast cancer in Quebec.
“One of our goals at CCS is to foster the development of standardized data so that we can improve treatments for people affected by cancer while promoting good research practices and information sharing. Ultimately, this registry could be extended across Canada and include all types of cancer, changing the way we practice medicine and saving more lives. We are pleased to partner with the McPeak-Sirois Group and support this innovative project led by Dr. Meterissian,” says Dr. Stuart Edmonds, EVP, Mission, Research and Advocacy at the Canadian Cancer Society.
All together, the 10 hospital centres currently members of the Group represent approximately 70% of the new breast cancer cases in Quebec every year, or approximately 4,500 cases.
Access to Registry data will enable us to have a better picture of metastatic breast cancer, to access standardized data, and to promote research on this type of cancer.
“We are proud of this collaboration with CCS to accelerate the development of this Registry which addresses unmet needs in understanding and managing breast cancer therapies. This financial support from CCS will enable the Registry to be a valuable resource for patients and researchers for years to come when it has grown to include thousands of patients,” added Dr. Dominique Johnson, General Manager of the McPeak-Sirois Group.
Read the official Press Release
About the McPeak-Sirois Group:
The McPeak-Sirois Group is a charitable organization whose mission is to fight breast cancer more effectively by increasing patients’ access and participation to clinical trials. The Group’s scientific committee is made up of internationally renowned scientists who oversee the selection of clinical studies offered to the consortium’s member hospitals. Co-founded in 2015 by Susan McPeak, a breast cancer survivor, and Charles Sirois, a well-known entrepreneur, the McPeak-Sirois Group is committed to promoting research that cares by bringing it closer to breast cancer patients throughout Quebec.
About the Canadian Cancer Society:
The Canadian Cancer Society works tirelessly to save and improve lives. We fund the brightest minds in cancer research. We provide a compassionate support system for all those affected by cancer, from coast to coast and for all types of cancer. As the voice for Canadians who care about cancer, we work with governments to establish health policies to prevent cancer and better support those living with the disease. No other organization does all that we do to improve lives today and to change the future of cancer forever. Call 1 888 939-3333 or visit cancer.ca today.