PM2 CAN-IMPACT-IO a national immunotherapy biospecimen collection study has now opened

PM2 CAN-IMPACT-IO is a unique national initiative to measure, predict and assess cancer treatment outcomes in patients who have been treated with immunotherapy. Patients on CCTG clinical trials who consent to CAN-IMPACT-IO will have blood and tumour tissue biopsy taken to analyses to look for features that correlate with benefit or lack of benefit to immunotherapy. 

"PM2 CAN-IMPACT-IO provides patients treated with immunotherapy on CCTG trials to have comprehensive genomic characterization of their tumour to identify potential therapeutic targets that can inform treatment decisions," says Dr. Philippe Bedard, study co-chair and Medical Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Researchers are interested in examining the genome and transcriptome (DNA and RNA) found in blood cells and tumour tissue of patients treated with immunotherapy. Researchers want to understand how the changes in the genome of tumours before, during and post-treatment affect response to treatment.

Immunotherapy has become an important standard treatment for many patients with cancers. There are many types of immunotherapies, but they all focus on assisting the immune system to fight all forms of cancer.

These samples and clinical data collected from the patients on CCTG trials will be added to the CAN-PIVOT and CAN-PREDICT IT cohort studies led by Drs. Spreafico and Bedard and funded by the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN). This information will be an important resource for the Canadian research community. 

“This project is a powerful collaborative platform to advance cancer research in Canada and improve patient care,” says Dr Anna Spreafico study co-chair and Clinician Investigator, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. 

The PM2 study has been funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society and is currently enrolling patients, for a full list of participating cancer centres please visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06630273