Dignity Therapy is the most studied psychosocial intervention in palliative care and has seen an uptake in healthcare facilities providing care to patients with advanced cancer worldwide.

Dr. Chochinov and Mr. John Farber helped establish what would evolve into the current Department of Patient and Family Support Services at CCMB.

In 1992 he received his first research grant from CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, launching a program of research in psychosocial oncology and palliative care that has been praised for its innovation and impact around the world.

CAR-T cell therapy is proving to be a very effective way of treating certain blood cancers. It reprograms a patient’s immune cells to target and attack cancer cells throughout the body. This is a new treatment for some types of leukemia and lymphoma (blood cancers).

T-cells, a specific type of white blood cell, are drawn from the donor and modified in a lab so they will specifically target and attack cancer cells. The changed cells, [are] then infused back into the patient.

Health services research is the study of the structure, processes, and impact of health services on the population. This research provides key information to help improve healthcare practices, policy, and outcomes, and contributes to a learning healthcare system.

The aim of health services research at the Institute is to identify and support the most effective ways to organize, manage, and deliver high-quality (equitable, appropriate, accessible, safe, efficient, and effective) cancer services for Manitobans.

Dr. Sapna Oberoi is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at CCMB and Scientist at the Institute. Her research program focuses on enhancing symptom management, especially mental health and supportive care of children, adolescents, and young adults (AYAs) with cancer to improve their overall outcomes, cancer experience, and quality of life during and after their cancer treatment. Her research involves engaging and partnering with patients, using quantitative and qualitative approaches, and routinely collecting population-based administrative data.

The CCMB Chiron Hematology research team, led by Dr. Zarychanski, hematologist and Senior Scientist at the Institute, is comprised of physician investigators and over 20 team members who collectively evaluate strategies to improve the lives of patients with cancer and blood disorders. They are one of the most productive research teams in the province and their novel methods and research findings have helped establish best practices in Manitoba and around the world.

Epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs) are comprised of multiple subtypes, each having a different cellular origin and response to therapy. High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most common and aggressive subtype of EOC. HGSOC is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths of all gynecological cancers in the developed world. Many women with this type of cancer initially respond to chemotherapy, yet most HGSOC patients will develop recurrent disease that ultimately becomes resistant to available treatments.

Dr. Jody Haigh, Senior Scientist at the Institute, and his research team have identified a novel combination therapy that holds great promise for treating an aggressive form of T-cell leukemia named ETP-ALL (Early T-cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia), which is typically quite aggressive, difficult to cure, and often relapses.

This novel combination therapy shifts the balance of survival factors toward cell death-inducing factors in cells otherwise resistant to epigenetic inhibitor therapies.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, having an average survival time of 12 to 18 months. Because of the challenges in treating GBM together with very poor survival outcomes, a lot of research continues to be done in this field.

Diagnostic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a non-invasive medical imaging technology used to assess a tumour’s response to treatment is done as a surgical follow-up to see how the tumour is responding to treatment, and whether there is progression or recurrence.

CancerCare Manitoba was the first in Canada to implement single-fraction SBRT (stereotactic body radiation treatment) for lung cancer. The pandemic required that CCMB reduce the exposure of cancer patients to COVID-19. As such, the Radiation Oncology team designed and studied a research program that decreased the number of patient visits for radiation treatments without compromising patient care and outcomes. Results from this innovative approach demonstrated the schedule was safe and effective for carefully selected patients with robust treatment planning.

The Manitoba Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) translational research program is a forerunner in CancerCare Manitoba’s commitment to research-driven evidence-based high-quality care for Manitobans. The CLL multidisciplinary research and clinical team serves as a guiding model for other cancer research clusters, particularly in other hematologic malignancies, incorporating basic scientists, clinicians, and epidemiologists to improve outcomes for Manitobans and Canadians suffering from cancer. The innovative CLL team focuses on patients with one of the most common but incurable forms of leukemia.