News

British Columbia’s first dedicated inpatient clinical trials unit for early-phase therapies in blood cancers has been launched by Vancouver Coastal Health in collaboration with BC Cancer physicians and scientists. Located at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), the new Hematology Research Unit will deliver revolutionary therapies — including first-in-human treatments such as advanced immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy — to patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant hematological diseases.

Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer hosts the Canadian Node of the Federated EGA

In a major milestone for international biomedical research and the future of personalized medicine, the Canadian Genome-Phenome Archive (CGA), part of the Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL) has joined the Federated European Genome-Phenome Archive (Federated EGA), marking the federation’s first significant expansion outside of Europe.

Dr. Marco Marra has been awarded the 2025 Killam Research Prize in health sciences, a prestigious award recognizing Canadian scholars who have made a significant impact in their respective fields through sustained research excellence.

Canadian researchers have developed an effective new technique for identifying aggressive medulloblastoma – the most common type of malignant brain tumour in children – and potentially sparing young patients from unnecessary treatments and their harmful long-term side effects. 

Researchers from BC Cancer and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have discovered that certain bacteria found in breast tumours could be linked to metastasis, or the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

The interactions within the tumour microenvironment can impact the effectiveness of cancer treatment, which is why Dr. Katey Enfield has centred her new BC Cancer lab on studying the spatial interactions between cancer cells, tissues and structures within the lung and applying new technologies that maintain spatial organization.