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Early Cancer Detection Initiative joins Canary Foundation Flock
October 24, 2017
University of Calgary cancer researchers to collaborate with top funding group
The Canary Foundation is now backing research at the University of Calgary. From left: Jon Meddings, dean of the Cumming School of Medicine; Elizabeth Cannon, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary; Don Listwin, founder and CEO of the Canary Foundation; Tina Rinker, lead, Early Cancer Detection Initiative; Bill Rosehart, dean of the Schulich School of Engineering. Photo by Pauline Zulueta
When you learn Don Listwin has an engineering degree, it all makes perfect sense.
The man who started the Canary Foundation, the world’s leading non-profit funding agency for early-detection cancer research, is looking to defeat the disease the way an engineer would. His strategy: prevent the problem before it starts, rather than trying to fix it after disaster has struck.
“Early detection of cancer means confronting the disease when it is most treatable and chances for full recovery are greatest,” explains Listwin, founder and chairman of the Canary Foundation, and an electrical engineering graduate. “By focusing our efforts on research dealing with early detection and pre-emptive testing, we are finding and fighting cancer when it is most vulnerable and easiest to defeat.”
This week, the Early Cancer Detection Initiative at the University of Calgary officially joins the esteemed list of research programs backed by the Canary Foundation. Since 2004, the foundation has helped fund a select group of collaborative laboratories, starting with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The University of Calgary joins the Canary Center at Stanford; the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; Cancer Research U.K.; and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute in Portland, Ore. on the short list of Canary Foundation collaborators.
For Listwin, cancer is a very personal adversary. Having lost his mother to misdiagnosed late-stage ovarian cancer and watched his father fight colon cancer, the Canadian technology mogul decided to do something about it.
Having previously climbed to the near-pinnacle of his chosen industry — Listwin was CEO of Openwave Systems and had been the number two executive at Cisco Systems — he took on cancer with the same drive and determination, launching the Canary Foundation.
Listwin says early-detection research like that taking place at UCalgary is key to ensuring victims become survivors. “The work taking place here in Calgary on diagnostic tools that will allow for early detection of high-mortality, treatment-resistant cancers is vital to our goal,” he says. “We are proud and enthused to be supporting the University of Calgary’s Early Cancer Detection Initiative.”
A partnership established by the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute between the Schulich School of Engineering, the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, the pan-university Early Cancer Detection Initiative’s mission is three-fold. Namely to develop strategies and methods for non-invasive earlier detection of cancer, discover better ways to predict the behaviour of individual cancers, and accelerate the development of new commercially viable cancer detection tests and technologies.
Led by bioengineering professor Kristina Rinker, PhD, the Early Cancer Detection Initiative team, including medical oncologist Dr. Don Morris and surgical oncologist Dr. Oliver Bathe of the Charbonneau Cancer Institute and the Department of Oncology, aims to engage with researchers across campus.
The goal is to advance cancer detection technology development through providing funding opportunities, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and building connections to local and international mentors, researchers, and resources. Researchers are currently investigating new ways of detecting those at risk of developing cancer, through blood tests for detecting early disease, body fluid analysis, and technologies to detect metastatic cancer, among other key projects.
Rinker is director of the Centre for Bioengineering Research and Education, and associate professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the Schulich School of Engineering, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the CSM and member of the Charbonneau Cancer Institute. She says the Canary Foundation’s support is a significant boost to the research taking place in Calgary, and it places the university in a position to work and collaborate with the world’s best.
“We are very excited to join the dedicated international team of researchers in the Canary network to detect cancer earlier and open doors to stopping or even reversing cancer progression,” explains Rinker.
The University of Calgary’s multidisciplinary Engineering Solutions for Health: Biomedical Engineering research strategy is focused on developing solutions for pressing health challenges in disease and injury prevention, diagnosis and treatments. Researchers are applying systems engineering principles to continuously improve the health system.
This article by Michael Platt originally appeared on the University of Calgary website (www.ucalgary.ca).
Registration Open for Canary Challenge 2014 in Honor of World Cancer Day
February 4, 2014
In honor of World Cancer Day, we are officially opening registration for the Canary Challenge 2014. Register for the ride now for $25 until March 31.
World Cancer Day is a chance to raise our collective voices in the name of improving general knowledge around cancer and dismissing misconceptions about the disease. For Canary, we’re emphasizing the need for more cancer early detection research, awareness, and advocacy. A great way to get involved is by participating in the Canary Challenge 2014.
This amazing one-day cycling event is about to get bigger and better than ever. The event will be hosted at HP’s campus in Palo Alto on Hanover St. We’re aiming high this year with a goal of raising $1.5 million, recruiting 150 teams and over 1,500 riders. This year’s ride will benefit the Canary Center at Stanford, supporting the researchers, scientists and doctors who are dedicated to cancer early detection. Register now and be part of the pioneering edge of cancer early detection research!
Upwards and Onwards: Canary Goals for 2014
January 29, 2014
The beginning of the year presents a cue to reflect on the successes of the previous year, and look forward to goals for the coming months. We’re delighted to announce progress with our research that has tremendous implications for future innovations, as well as our ambitions for the Canary Challenge 2014.
New technologies always evoke excitement and anticipation. Here at Canary, if a scientist wants to use a new technology to advance or improve the ways we detect cancer tumors early, we are all for it. Enhanced ultrasound using microbubble technology is one of these technologies.
This technology will change the way doctors view tumors. Microbubbles are miniature gas bubbles, mostly containing oxygen or air, which can be uniformly suspended in a liquid such as blood. Due to their size, they can pass through even the smallest of blood vessels and therefore are commonly used together with medical ultrasound imaging. As effective vehicles for highlighting blood in ultrasound images, Canary scientists use microbubbles as a contrast agent to view cancer tumors. Our clinical trials in Rome with women who have ovarian cancer have produced great results. Here in the US, we anticipate replicating microbubble technology for applications with breast cancer, prostate and pancreatic cancer.
We also value and actively seek out key partnerships, whether academic or industry. Soon we’ll announce a partnership with Genomic Health Inc. in the area of prostate cancer. We’re in talks with MD Anderson in Houston to help with coordinating a national multi-institutional lung cancer study.
We have great plans for our largest fundraising event, the Canary Challenge, which is about to get bigger and better than ever. Mark your calendar now for September 27, 2014. Register now for $25 until March 31. The event will be hosted at HP’s campus in Palo Alto on Hanover St. We’re aiming high this year with a goal of raising $1.5 million, recruiting 150 teams and over 1,500 riders. This year’s ride will benefit the Canary Center at Stanford, supporting the researchers, scientists and doctors who are dedicated to cancer early detection. Come be a part of an amazing one-day cycling event!
We’re pleased to announce that we will again be partnering with women’s pro cycling team extraordinaire, the Vanderkittens, who will host monthly training rides for Canary Challenge riders. Hani Juha, a cyclist and great coach, of Menlo Bike Club will also offer weekly training rides, an annual training program, as well as monthly clinics. We invite anyone and everyone in the Canary community to take advantage of these tailored experiences to brush up on their skills in time for the event.
What are your hopes and dreams for cancer early detection research at Canary Foundation? Let us know in the comments below!
What’s it Like to Ride the Canary Challenge?
December 16, 2013
Save the date to register for the Canary Challenge 2014- registration opens on January 4 in the New Year!
Canary Highpoints: Cancer Early Detection Research Progress 2013
December 4, 2013
Canary Foundation’s progress continues to be on a rapid path. Through prestigious partnerships, research, and clinical trials with quantifiable results, Canary Foundation is funding early detection research that will save lives and permanently change the landscape of cancer diagnostics. People like you have made this progress possible.
In 2013, our partnership with Stanford University expanded and we moved into our new state-of-the-art Canary Center at Stanford to continue our work realizing early detection solutions.
We are pleased to share a new video featuring our high points. We thought this was a great way to reflect on key ideas Canary was founded upon that have become reality. We invite you to view our 5-minute Canary Foundation video!
When you and your family make giving decisions this holiday, we ask that make cancer early detection a priority. Please give generously.
Prostate Cancer Early Detection: Canary PASS Trial Hits Important Milestone
November 14, 2013
About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer will not die from it. With screening, we’re doing better at identifying prostate cancer early. But now, the clinical question is: with a prostate cancer diagnosis, do we treat, or is treatment not necessary?
Treating prostate cancer when it’s not necessary exposes men to potential side effects—including incontinence and impotence– of aggressive treatment like surgery. This is known as overtreatment. We need better tools to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from non-aggressive prostate cancer to guide these decisions.
In 2007, the Canary prostate team decided to focus on this important clinical question. How will we distinguish lethal from non-lethal prostate cancer? Identifying the difference early on will save lives. New tools will also help end unnecessary biopsies and overtreatment.
By 2008, the team launched a clinical trial called PASS, the Prostate Active Surveillance Study. Men with early stage, localized, low-risk prostate cancer can enroll and have their cancer closely monitored for signs of progression. This process is called active surveillance. The trial’s goal is to manage low-risk prostate cancer through active surveillance while identifying markers to distinguish non-aggressive prostate cancer from potentially lethal disease.
The PASS trial has been running smoothly, and in October 2013, the PASS Trial reached another major milestone when the 1,000th man was enrolled in the trial.
We are so grateful for Canary Foundation supporters, who provided funding early on for this work. They recognized that the project was underfunded and important. We’re also extremely thankful to the men who participated in the trial for contributing tens of thousands of samples to prostate cancer early detection research. Thank you!
Lung Cancer Early Detection: Canary Foundation Collaborates with MD Anderson
November 7, 2013
Recently, Canary Foundation and Stanford embarked on a collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Center, working together on a large-scale initiative to improve the screening process of lung cancer for earlier detection of this lethal disease.
The Canary lung cancer team leader, Dr. Sam Hanash, was recruited to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, which launched an ambitious Moon Shots Program aimed at rapidly and significantly reducing mortality in several major cancers. Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer deaths.
As part of Moon Shots program, lung cancer physicians and researchers are initiating a screening study to improve screening for lung cancer. The goal is to recruit 10,000 individuals in the U.S., and to partner with international sites, including China and Germany, to conduct studies with an additional 10,000 patients. Canary will be joining forces with MD Anderson, combining CT scan technology and biomarker research to better interpret screening results.
These clinical trials represent the next phase of Canary research, taking the progress we’ve made in the lab and testing it in a larger clinical setting.
Canary Awards for Outstanding Early Cancer Detection Research
October 29, 2013
Photo: The clinical trial coordinators for the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) accept the 2013 Canary Award on behalf of the Canary Prostate Team.
Dr. Dianne Miller was presented with the award for her team’s success in promoting adoption of ovarian cancer prevention programs throughout the Canadian province of British Columbia. Because lethal ovarian cancer often originates in fallopian tubes, their removal can prevent the development of ovarian cancer, potentially reducing the incidence by 50% or more. Since the advent of the British Columbia educational campaign in September 2010, clinics across the province have seen a practice shift toward removal of fallopian tubes during common gynecological surgeries (such as hysterectomy and tubal ligation), thanks to the efforts of Dr. Miller’s team.
The Canary Prostate team was presented with the Canary Award for the team’s success in meeting or exceeding all of its major milestones in the Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) clinical trial. Earlier in the month of October, 2013, the PASS trial celebrated reaching another major milestone, as the 1,000th participant was enrolled in the trial. The trial’s goal is to manage low-risk prostate cancer through active surveillance while identifying markers to distinguish non-aggressive prostate cancer from potentially lethal disease.
Congratulations to both teams for all their hard work, and to all the Canary teams who work tirelessly to develop research and solutions to make accessible cancer early detection a reality.
Breast Cancer Early Detection Research at Canary Foundation
October 7, 2013
In the United States, it is estimated that there will be 232,340 new breast cancer cases and 39,620 breast cancer mortalities in 2013. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Despite the widespread use of mammography, the technology is limited as many cancers are missed and conversely many women undergo biopsies and surgeries of benign or non-aggressive tumors.
Canary Foundation is supporting a Breast Cancer Early Detection Initiative focused on finding blood-based and imaging biomarkers to improve the current state of breast cancer early detection. The vision of the blood work is to distinguish women with benign versus malignant tumors, and to identify the aggressive, hard to detect, breast cancers. The vision of the imaging work is to detect breast cancer at the earliest stages, when the tumors are very small.
Canary is committed to funding safe, efficient, cost effective tests for cancer early detection.
Riding to Victory! Cancer Early Detection Fundraising at the Canary Challenge 2013
October 3, 2013
This past weekend, 800 cyclists converged at VMware village to kick off Canary Challenge 2013, a great increase over the number of riders from last year! Over $800,000 was raised to benefit cancer research at the Stanford Cancer Institute and Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford.
There were a total of 78 teams participating, with over 120 volunteers cheering, manning registration, and passing out drinks and snacks to replenish riders along the route. Most incredible was the great energy at the event – participants’ dedication and commitment to the cause was palpable, and the celebratory air when cyclists returned triumphant from their rides was electric.
We loved when riders stopped by the social photo booth to show us “#WhyIRideCanary”. Everyone who contributed to the event did so because they were inspired by the need for cancer early detection research. It was incredible to hear their stories – a great reminder of why we ride.
A great thank you to all the riders, sponsors, volunteers and staff who came together on September 28 to make this ride such a great success. Ride on, Canary Challenge participants! Save the date for next year: September 27, 2014!
