MESSAGE FROM
OUR LEADERS
Paul Alofs
President & CEO
The Princess Margaret
Cancer Foundation
GleNn Ives
Chair, Board of Directors
The Princess Margaret
Cancer Foundation
On the Cover
An example of
immunotherapy in action –
two T-cells [red] attacking
an oral cancer cell. Image
captured by U.S. cancer
researcher Dr. Rita Serda.
3. 4 th Cancer Battle, Now With Immunotherapy 4. Dr. Tak Mak Goes to the Vatican 5. Real Cures Come From Discovery Research 6. The Cancer Warrior: The Immune System 10. A Drug That Shows Your Body How to Beat Cancer 12. Revolutionizing Cancer Therapy 13. Boosting the Arsenal: Adoptive T-cell Therapy 14. T-cells on Alert: Cancer Vaccines 15. Unleashing the Immune System: Immune Checkpoint Blockade 17. Immunotherapy Offers Hope 18. The Princess Margaret Leads the Way 19. On the Front Lines of Immunotherapy 22. CLINICAL TRIALS AT PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTREIt’s one of the biggest ideas of the past decade,
with the potential to revolutionize cancer therapy,
and it’s happening at Princess Margaret Cancer
Centre. Immunotherapy is about harnessing the
body’s own immune system to attack and kill cancer.
This past January at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare
Conference, a preeminent investors’ event,
immunotherapy research and treatment generated
intense interest. Even more striking, academic
journals agree with these healthcare executives
and investment analysts.
Why the hype? Let’s start with the remarkable
cancer treatment that helped save former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter’s life. In August of 2015, he
announced he had melanoma and it had spread to
his liver and brain. He underwent surgery, radiation,
and a new cancer treatment, immunotherapy. Fast
forward to December and another announcement,
there were no further signs of cancer in his body.
In March, Johns Hopkins established a cancer
immunotherapy research centre with two $50-million
gifts — from former New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and Jones Apparel Group Founder Sidney
Kimmel. An additional $25 million came from others.
There’s also Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker,
of Napster and Facebook fame, who committed $250
million to bring together more than 300 researchers
from six key U.S. cancer centres to advance
developments in cancer immunotherapy.
As one of the top 5 cancer research centres in
the world, The Princess Margaret has already seen
significant breakthroughs in immunotherapy. We will
continue to lead the way with the generous support
of our community. Help us push discoveries and new
treatments forward.
To support The
Princess Margaret,
please visit
www.thepmcf.caor call 416-946-6560