Over the past decade, Agnico Eagle is proud to have made one of the largest cumulative corporate charitable investments in Canadian history by supporting cancer research and clinical trials at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (The PM).
In 2021, Agnico Eagle pledged $10 million to fund the Grand Challenges competition, which supports innovative projects in two key areas: 1) Early Detection - detecting cancers earlier and intercepting them while still curable, and 2) Beyond Chemotherapy - continuing to identify more precise, customized therapies that effectively target cancer. We invite you to meet two of the most recent winners and learn more about their work below.
Early Detection: Developing a Liquid Biomarker for Testicular Cancer
The most recent winner of the Early Detection Grand Challenge is Dr. Robert Hamilton, a Staff Urologic Oncologist at The PM, who is developing a liquid biomarker for testicular cancer.
When small testicular masses have been identified in a patient, the traditional approach has been to remove the affected testicle. Until recently, 95% of these masses were thought to be malignant, but recent studies have shown that only 13-21% are actually cancerous.
Dr. Hamilton is working to develop an early biomarker test that could determine whether
these testicular masses are malignant or benign. His goal is twofold: 1) avoid unnecessary removal of a testicle with a benign mass, and 2) detect testicular cancer early enough to avoid the need for aggressive treatment and improve the chances for a good outcome.
“This project has the potential to save young men with benign masses unnecessary testicle removal and guide those with malignant masses to timely surgery,” says Dr. Hamilton. “An accurate liquid biomarker could be a game-changer.”
Beyond Chemotherapy: A Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Trial
Dr. Michael Reedijk, a Surgical Oncologist and Senior Scientist at The PM is the most recent winner of the Beyond Chemotherapy Grand Challenge.
Dr. Reedijk will be conducting a trial focusing on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive subtype of breast cancer that has a poor survival rate. It affects mainly young people in the prime of their lives, people of African ancestry, and people who carry the inherited breast cancer gene, BRCA1.
“We have recently discovered that TNBC grows by releasing special proteins called cytokines,” explains Dr. Reedijk. “One of these cytokines, called IL1β, acts as a beacon, attracting cells to the tumour and suppressing the immune system, helping the tumour to spread.”
Scientists have known for decades that abnormal cytokine secretion can promote inflammatory diseases like arthritis, and as a result, drugs that target cytokines have been developed to treat these diseases.
In laboratory models, Dr. Reedijk demonstrated that one of these cytokine-fighting drugs (called
anakinra), which prevents the production of IL1β, may be a powerful immunotherapy to fight TNBC, and he will now be conducting a clinical trial to test whether anakinra could reactivate the immune system to attack TNBC.
“I’m grateful for the funding provided by the Agnico Eagle Grand Challenge, which will allow us to use cutting-edge molecular profiling to take a detailed look at how anakinra changes the tumour immune environment,” says Dr. Reedijk.
Repurposing drugs like anakinra for cancer treatment means they can be brought more rapidly to the cancer clinic, reducing time and cost, and saving the lives of patients who previously had few treatment options.
Learn More About Our Past Grand Challenge Winners
The first Agnico Eagle Grand Challenge winners were Dr. Kathy Han, who, along with her team, is working to advance detection of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and to treat more patients with virus-related head and neck, cervical and anal cancers; and Drs. Amit Oza, Jonathan Irish, and Brian Wilson, who are poised to deliver the first-in-human clinical trials of porphysomes – nanoparticles that were discovered and could change the world of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and therapy.
Additional Support from Agnico Eagle
A portion of Agnico Eagle’s $10 million gift also supports enhancing the capacity of the Cancer Clinical Research Unit at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, which helps the Cancer Centre accelerate the achievement of breakthrough treatments.
Agnico Eagle has also supported head and neck cancer care and research at The Princess Margaret over the last 13 years through the Company’s Annual Golf Charity Day.