Research News

	Potential colorectal cancer treatment combines immunotherapy and viral therapy in a powerful new way February 16, 2023 - Immunotherapy is revolutionizing the treatment of many kinds of cancer, but for colorectal cancer, success has been limited to patients with rare genetic mutations. To tackle this challenge, researchers at The Ottawa Hospital engineered a new kind of
	ELEVATE seed grants to help researchers at The Ottawa Hospital develop better treatments and improve patient care February 1, 2023 - The Ottawa Hospital’s Research Institute is awarding five ELEVATE seed grants to early-career researchers to spur the development of innovative treatments and better patient care.
	Outside-the-box thinking saves young man with colorectal cancer January 11, 2023 - When Dr. Auer left the exam room after meeting Haydn for the first time, she remembers feeling heartbroken, thinking about this young man’s life, his future, and the diagnosis he faced.
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	Bench to bedside: the quest to prevent cancer from coming back after surgery October 20, 2022 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital have made another important step forward in their quest to find innovative ways to stop cancer from coming back after surgery. While surgery often provides the best option for removing all or most of a tumour, resea
	Arginine supplement prevents cancer spread after surgery in mice, but more research in humans is required September 1, 2022 - Two new papers from Dr. Rebecca Auer’s group are shedding light on how cancer spreads after surgery and how we might stop it.
	Clinical trials offer strong foundation for better patient care May 16, 2019 - Clinical trials are an important step toward developing new treatments and learning more about diseases and conditions. In honour of International Clinical Trials Day, read how some of the researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are making huge contribut
	Award-winning immunology research shows how cancer surgery paralyzes part of the immune system January 11, 2019 - Surgery is very effective in removing solid cancers, but it also suppresses the immune system in a way that makes it easier for remaining cancer cells to survive and spread. New research led by Dr. Rebecca Auer shows that surgery paralyzes immune cel
	Targeting cancer stem cells improves survival in certain kinds of colorectal cancer August 16, 2018 - An international clinical trial led by Dr. Derek Jonker found that a drug that targets cancer stem cells improved survival in patients with a specific form of colorectal cancer. Cancer stem cells make up a very small part of a some tumours. However,
	Colonoscopies save lives, but study finds room for improvement May 16, 2018 - Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in Canada. Colonoscopy can reduce the risks of CRC and CRC-related death through early detection and treatment of pre-cancerous growth. A new study led by Dr. Sanjay Murthy found that while co

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Ardolino, Michele PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Therapeutics)	Blood cancer, Brain cancer, Breast cancer, Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Head and neck cancer, Liver cancer, Lung cancer, Ovarian cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer, Soft tissue sarcoma	Basic research, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical research, Disease models, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Auer, Rebecca MD, MSc, FRCSC	Senior Scientist (Cancer Therapeutics)	Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Ovarian cancer, Pancreatic cancer	Basic research, Cancer biotherapeutics, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Immunotherapy, Molecular and cellular biology, Oncolytic viruses, Peri-operative medicine, Quality Improvement, Surgery, Translational research, Viral therapy
Dennis, Kristopher MD FRCPC PhD	Clinician Investigator (Cancer Therapeutics)	Cancer, Colorectal cancer, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, Gastric cancer, Liver cancer, Pain, Pancreatic cancer	Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Palliative care, Pragmatic trials, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Martel, Guillaume MD, MSc (Epi), FRCSC, FACS	Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Anemia, Bleeding disorders, Colorectal cancer, Liver cancer, Liver disease, Pancreatic cancer	Anesthesiology, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Peri-operative medicine, Surgery, Systematic reviews, Transfusions
Murthy, Sanjay MD, FRCPC	Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Colorectal cancer, Crohn's, Gastrointestinal disease, Inflammatory bowel syndrome	Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health services research
Nair, Vimoj MBBS MD MSc FRCPC	Clinician Investigator (Clinical Epidemiology)	Blood cancer, Brain cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gastric cancer, Liver cancer, Pancreatic cancer	Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Health technology, Imaging, Pragmatic trials, Quality Improvement, Translational research
Nessim, Carolyn MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS	Clinician Investigator (Cancer Therapeutics)	Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gastric cancer, Gastrointestinal disease, Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), Soft tissue sarcoma, Skin cancer	Biomarkers, Clinical trials, Gene expression, Immunotherapy, Surgery, Translational research, Viral therapy, Clinical research, Immunotherapy
Ramsay, Timothy PhD	Senior Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Addiction, Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Anxiety, Ataxia, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Concussion, Cystic fibrosis, Dementia, Depression, Dystonia, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Influenza, Kidney disease, Lung cancer, Macular degeneration, Men's health, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Obesity, Ovarian cancer, Parkinson's, Pulmonary hypertension, Septic shock, Spinal cord injury	Artificial intelligence and data science, Behaviour, Biomaterials, Biostatistics, Cell therapy, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Drug development, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Prevention, Psychology, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Regenerative medicine, Rehabilitation, Risk assessment, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews, Transfusions, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy

Related Resources

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Cancer Therapeutics Program

The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program

Clinical Trials

The following list of clinical trials is pulled from ClinicalTrials.gov using the search terms "Colorectal cancer” and “Ottawa Hospital.” More advanced search options are available. If you find a clinical trial that interests you, you can bring the information to the next appointment with your care team and ask if you are eligible for the study. If so, they may be able to refer you to the study team. Visit ohri.ca/patients to learn more about participating in research and clinical trials.

Note that ClinicalTrials.gov is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English. Please note that we cannot guarantee a response from the person listed in the ‘Contact’ column.

Publications

The following research publications are pulled from PubMed using the search terms "Colorectal cancer" and "Ottawa Hospital", with publication date of 2020 or later. More advanced search options are available. Note that PubMed is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English.

Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action.
2024-03-27

Fluoropyrimidine type, patient age, tumour sidedness and mutation status as determinants of benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with EGFR monoclonal antibodies: individual patient data pooled analysis of randomised trials from the ARCAD database.
2024-02-25

Protocol for the ONLOOP trial: pragmatic randomized trial evaluating a province-wide system of personalized reminders for evidence-based surveillance tests in adult survivors of childhood cancer in Ontario.
2024-02-24

The dopamine transporter antagonist vanoxerine inhibits G9a and suppresses cancer stem cell functions in colon tumors.
2024-02-14

A randomized trial evaluating the utility of non-targeted biopsies for colorectal neoplasia detection in adults with inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot study protocol.
2024-02-01

Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions.
2024-01-29

Colon cancer in primary care.
2024-01-24

Prognostic significance of lymph nodes assessment during pulmonary metastasectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2024-01-22

FGL2 promotes tumour growth and attenuates infiltration of activated immune cells in melanoma and ovarian cancer models.
2024-01-09

Transverse Colon Primary Tumor Location as a Biomarker in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of CCTG/AGITG CO.17 and CO.20 Randomized Clinical Trials.
2024-01-04

View more on PubMed