The Gold Cohort – a once-in-a-generation breakthrough
Research teams now accessing Canada’s largest cancer case resource
Dan Murphy with his daughters Grace and Maeve. Mr. Murphy’s clinical and genomic data is part of the Gold Cohort, and he is a member of Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network’s Patient Working Group. supplied
Over the last few years, researchers across the country have been building something that will help change cancer research and care in Canada. The Gold Cohort is Canada’s largest and most complete cancer case resource and includes data from thousands of diverse cancer patients treated in centres across the country.
Assembled by the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN), this incredible dataset is now being accessed for the first time by research teams as part of a pilot program designed to test and assess how this data can advance critical cancer research.
“This is a historic moment for the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network and for cancer research and care in Canada,” says Dr. André Veillette, executive director of the MOHCCN. “By providing cancer researchers with the Gold Cohort data, we’ll enable them to start asking new questions at a scale that was never before possible in Canada, helping to make discoveries that will directly benefit cancer patients for generations to come”
Led by the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Terry Fox Foundation, with support from the federal government and donors, the MOHCCN was launched in 2021 to accelerate cancer research and bring personalized treatments to every cancer patient in Canada to help finish the marathon against cancer that Terry started in 1980.
“Over the last four years, MOHCCN has united patients, researchers and clinicians across the country to work together to build a game-changing dataset,” says Dr. Marco Marra, a Distinguished Scientist at BC Cancer, who will lead one of the pilot projects. “We are thrilled to be able to start accessing these data to deliver faster answers and a renewed sense of hope to cancer patients.”
Dr. Marra’s team will be one of the first groups to examine data in the Gold Cohort. Along with collaborators in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Alberta and B.C., the team will use the data to try to identify potential treatment options for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. They are analyzing data from 120 glioblastoma patients treated across the country with a goal of matching patients with more drug options even if those drugs weren’t originally designed for this type of cancer.
In Calgary, a research team is using Gold Cohort data to develop software that will measure immune cell composition inside tumours. A snapshot of how the immune system interacts with the tumour could help identify patients who might benefit from immunotherapies.
And in Montreal, several teams are collaborating to analyze the Gold Cohort data alongside data from two large international organizations. They hope to identify rare driver mutations, particularly in cancers with complex genomes. Access to large-scale data like these could help find new drivers and pave the way for more personalized cancer care.
Two other teams will access the data to find better ways to identify signatures of leukemia before cancer is formed and new treatment options for patients whose cancer has a specific type of genetic aberration known as extrachromosomal DNA.
Among the nearly 13,000 patients who have already contributed their clinical and genomic data to the Gold Cohort is Dan Murphy, who says being part of the cohort and MOHCCN’s Patient Working Group gives him a sense of hope and excitement, knowing his data are contributing to advances in precision cancer care that can benefit others.
“I feel like I’m a small part of something that can make a big difference. Adding my data together with that of the other patients, and the impact we can have, is really fulfilling for me. It gives me lots of optimism on where we’re headed with cancer research and cancer care,” says Mr. Murphy, who was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in 2023.
Mr. Murphy’s tumour was sequenced, and testing revealed a specific mutation that allowed him to receive targeted therapy. Today, his cancer is stable and he’s enjoying a remarkable quality of life.
“Had that not happened, I would’ve gone down a different path. I’m so fortunate that I live in this country where that testing is accessible. Working with the Terry Fox Foundation and being part of an initiative that aims to give all Canadians access to precision medicine and the benefits that can come from it is really special,” he says.
While current survival rates for people with pancreatic cancer are low, Mr. Murphy says the Gold Cohort will give oncologists access to a much more robust source of information to unlock discoveries that can benefit patients.
“It really gives me hope that other people will be able to benefit from the same quality of life that I’m getting, and I hope that a generation from now, or maybe a few years from now, the advances will continue and continue, so that [in the future] people won’t have to go through what I’ve gone through and won’t have to suffer my prognosis,” he says.
Learn more: terryfox.org; tfri.ca; marathonofhopecancercentres.ca
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