Agnico Eagle funds revolutionary research designed to detect HPV-related cancers earlier and treat more patients.
Agnico Eagle has a long history of funding major cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM), contributing over $25 million in the last ten years alone – one of the largest cumulative corporate charitable investments in Canadian history.
Our latest gift of $10 million could be a game-changer in the fight against cancer.
Agnico Eagle’s donation has funded two Agnico Eagle Princess Margaret Grand Challenges, which will drive leading-edge cancer research in two key areas: early detection and less toxic treatments.
Leading the charge is Dr. Kathy Han, winner of the Agnico Eagle Intercept Cancer Grand Challenge, and her team of experts at PM, who are working to advance detection of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and to treat more patients with virus-related head and neck, cervical and anal cancers.
“This award will help us redesign and personalize the cancer patient experience by moving toward more precise, customized therapies that effectively target cancer to each individual patient, without the harsh side effects of chemotherapy,” says Dr. Han. “Using cutting-edge genetic technologies to hunt for HPV-DNA genetic material in the bloodstream will help us make early detection of cancer recurrence and interception – while still curable – a reality.”
The Princess Margaret team has already begun recruiting patients and taking samples to analyze, which will be used to distinguish which patients are most at risk of having their HPV-related cancer return and those who will remain disease-free. Cancer treatments can then be found earlier, and treatment tailored with a simple and inexpensive blood test.
“Agnico and its employees have a long history of giving,” comments Sean Boyd, Agnico Eagle’s Executive Chair of the Board. “We had the opportunity to visit the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre a number of years ago, and we were blown away by this world-class facility. We are going to conquer cancer by funding the best research. We are in a position to help, and we are happy to be their partner.”
Agnico Eagle’s partnership with PM began in 1996, when our founder Paul Penna was treated at the hospital for lung cancer, and the Board of Directors made a major donation in his memory and in recognition of the outstanding care he received while being treated there.
"Agnico Eagle's transformational gift to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre supports the best and brightest researchers pursuing bold, game-changing ideas that will revolutionize the way we detect and treat cancers, benefitting millions of cancer patients around the world,” says Dr. Keith Stewart, Vice President Cancer, University Health Network.
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