Research summary
Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in Canadian children. Those who survive often experience lifelong side effects from their treatments.
We know that all cancers contain mutations, but we understand very little about the processes that lead to them in relapsed and metastatic childhood cancers. It is hard to predict how a tumour will change—including how it will respond to treatment and whether it will come back—when we know so little about what led to its development.
As Canada Research Chair in Childhood Cancer Genomics, Dr. Adam Shlien plans to change that. Working in the field of translational cancer genomics and using cutting-edge sequencing tools with computer software that he developed, Shlien and his research team are sequencing tumour samples from a unique group of individuals with inherited cancers. They are also studying samples from patients with early-driver mutations where the critical mutation happened many years before the tumour formed.
Once the type and timing of mutations in hard-to-treat childhood cancers are defined—revealing what caused the mutations and when they developed—we will have the knowledge needed to help predict the best way to target tumours with new treatments.
Ultimately, by uncovering the molecular fingerprints of tumours and solving the mysteries of their pasts, Shlien is pointing the way to better outcomes and brighter futures for children with cancer.