Canadian researchers at the heart of international projects

TRANSCAN-3 is an international network led by the European Union, bringing together 31 funding organizations from 20 countries, including Canada. Its goal is to strengthen scientific collaboration between countries to accelerate progress in the fight against cancer. Each year, a call is launched on a priority issue. In 2024, the theme focused on combination therapies, an approach that combines multiple treatments to improve efficacy and reduce side effects.

Following this highly competitive call, 15 consortia were selected to receive a total of €16.7 million in funding. CRS, with its valued partner, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR), and TRANSCAN-3, will co-fund three of these consortia: METRICs, PREDICT-BC, and SARAH. These teams include Canadian researchers who will play a key role in advancing these projects and contributing to the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Learn more about the Canadian researchers and the innovative projects supported:

METRICs
Metabolism/Metagenomics-based strategies for sensitization to Radio- and Immuno-therapy Combinations

The METRICs consortium aims to improve bladder cancer treatments by combining radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Although these approaches are promising, they do not work equally well for all patients. The team is exploring whether the gut microbiome (the bacteria present in the intestine) and metabolism can influence response to treatment.
Dr. Wassim Kassouf, professor at McGill University, is collaborating with researchers from Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Turkey. Together, they are studying immune mechanisms and microbes that could enhance treatment efficacy, with the goal of developing more personalized and effective combination therapies.

PREDICT-BC
Patient-derived models for the Research and Evaluation of Discovery and Innovation in Combination Therapies for Biliary Cancer

Biliary tract cancer is a rare and aggressive disease with limited treatment options. Although new drugs have been developed to target specific genetic mutations in this type of cancer, their efficacy is often short-lived or varies considerably from patient to patient.
The PREDICT-BC consortium, comprised of experts from Canada, Germany, Spain, and Italy, aims to build a large biobank of patient-derived tumour models to identify new drug combinations and better study personalized treatment responses.
Drs. Arndt Vogel and Gregory from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at the University Health Network, are actively contributing to the consortium’s progress, thanks to their complementary expertise in genetic analysis and bioinformatics.

SARAH
Search for combinational therapy to target clonal haematopoiesis in solid malignancies

As people age, some blood stem cells may accumulate mutations, a phenomenon known as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which can create a chronic inflammatory environment that contributes to the development of cancers such as lung or pancreatic cancer.
The SARAH consortium, made up of researchers from Canada, Germany, and Austria, is investigating how these mutations influence tumour progression and treatment response. Dr. Tarik Möröy, professor at the Université de Montréal and researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), is contributing to this promising project.
The goal is to identify drug combinations that target both the tumour and CHIP-associated inflammation, with the aim of improving treatment options for patients with these mutations.

A Contribution Beyond Borders
By supporting these three consortia, CRS reaffirms its commitment to advancing promising projects rooted in scientific excellence and innovation. This initiative also highlights the importance of international collaboration in driving research forward for the benefit of people affected by cancer.