Molecular Breast Imaging System

ONTARIO LEADING THE WORLD WITH NEW PROTOTYPE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DETECTING BREAST CANCER

Ontario has been chosen to lead the world in clinical trials of new technologies for detecting breast cancer.

Hamilton was selected by GE Healthcare as the world’s first site to receive new prototype technologies for use in a molecular breast imaging research program. Hamilton researchers will design and lead clinical trials to evaluate new technologies that use molecular imaging probes that target breast cancer. This cutting-edge strategy has the potential to find very small tumours, leading to early intervention. Trials will be geared towards high-risk women who are not currently well served by mammography. 

“Our goal is for cancer to be diagnosed at the earliest stage. This technology promises to have a significant impact on care for high-risk patients whose tiny tumours cannot be seen by mammography. We hope this will lead to earlier detection, better treatment and ultimately, save lives,” said Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)

GE Healthcare chose Ontario – and Hamilton -- because of the combined strengths of a collaborative partnership among the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.

Hamilton offers a depth of experience with internationally recognized breast cancer research and clinical trials, its nuclear medicine program and the work being done by the CPDC, a new organization focused on developing and commercializing molecular imaging probes and related technologies.  GE technologies will be located at Hamilton’s Henderson General Hospital, with the research and development work carried out by McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.
Through careful evaluation in clinical trials, researchers will determine the full potential of the molecular breast imaging strategy.

“The scientific breakthroughs we make here will help Ontario families – and millions of people around the world – to live better, healthier, longer lives,” said Minister of Research and Innovation John Wilkinson.

Early detection makes an enormous difference to breast cancer survival rates. According to the Mayo Clinic, the five-year survival rate for early-stage, localized cancer is 98 per cent. Through the OICR’s Imaging Pipeline group and One Millimetre Cancer Challenge, Ontario is investing in research into a variety of techniques for catching cancer early.

In 2005, Ontario launched the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the first collaborative research institute in Canada to bring together leading researchers from across the province in a coordinated effort to fight cancer.

By bringing together public and private sector partners, the institute enables researchers from across Ontario to work together on a strategy to fight cancer — from the need for better prevention and early detection to more targeted diagnosis and more effective treatments. As a major hub for cancer research, the institute also partners with other leading provincial, national and international cancer research institutions to advance research opportunities.

The collaborative approach characteristic of the institute – and Ontario – has now led to a partnership that will make the province the first place in the world to evaluate and further develop new molecular imaging technologies for the early detection of breast cancer.

Dr. John Valliant, the CPDC’s Scientific Director and CEO said: “The CPDC and its partners are working to develop and evaluate cutting edge technologies, like molecular breast imaging, which have the potential to detect and diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and with greater accuracy than is now possible.”

“To take full advantage of the potential offered by the MBI system, you need molecular imaging probes which seek out and light up cancer cells,” said Dr. Valliant. The Centre specializes in creating and commercializing probes and finding new applications, such as using them to accelerate the discovery of new treatments or to help guide surgical procedures,

The primary reason for research focused on molecular imaging is its potential to impact the long-term health outcomes and improve the quality of life for women threatened by breast cancer. But it offers practical short-term benefits as well.

The technologies, once deployed in a clinical trial, will increase the number of jobs for nuclear medicine technologists. Worldwide, these specialists are in high demand, and the technologies will attract these and other health care professionals to Ontario.

Ontario is turning its commitment to research and innovation into a magnet for world-class talent, such as Dr. Tom Hudson, who came to Toronto from Montreal, and other leading institute researchers, such as Dr. Lincoln Stein (from Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory in New York) and Dr. John McPherson who returned to Ontario after two decades of working in the United States.

The Ministry of Research and Innovation has committed almost $435 million since 2003 to support the world-leading work of these institutions, and is contributing $450,000 toward the project through the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

The clinical trials will take place at the Henderson General Hospital-Juravinski Cancer Centre site, part of Hamilton Health Sciences.

By The Numbers

• Ontario is the largest hub of life sciences activity in Canada and the fourth largest biomedical research centre in North America.
• Ontario has 25 research and academic hospitals that employ 10,000 scientists and clinical investigators and conduct $850 million in research annually.
• The province is home to one of the world's leading biopharmaceutical industries. The sector employs more than 20,000 Ontarians in high-value jobs, including researchers and scientists.
• Ontario has allocated almost $38.2M to the Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Program for women 50 years of age and over. The goal is to reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer through early detection and to screen 70 per cent of eligible women aged 50 to 74 every two years by 2010.
• There are 88 sites across Ontario, including 79 affiliate sites and eight co-ordinating sites to ensure women have access to this service province-wide.
• Another world-first: Ontario has been selected, through the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, as the administrative centre of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. The consortium’s goal is to unlock the genome of the 50 most common cancer tumours that plague humanity.
• The cancer genome project will generate 25,000 times more data than the human genome project, and Ontario’s role will include being the data coordination centre for the consortium.