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 Have a question about cancer that you can’t find an answer for? Every issue Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, president of the BC Cancer Agency, will answer a question to clarify issues on cancer research, debunk myths and discuss other cancer-related subjects. If you have a burning cancer question please send it to infobccf@bccancer.bc.ca.
Question:
I have heard that the BC Cancer Agency is a translational research organization. What does this mean and how does this advance cancer care in B.C.?
Answer:
Translational research means generating new knowledge through research, validating that research in a clinical setting and ensuring that knowledge is transferred to the population at large.
The BC Cancer Agency is uniquely qualified to pursue this strategy because of its population-based approach to cancer control. Both cancer care and research are overseen by the same organization. This means there is a close collaboration between physicians and cancer research scientists throughout B.C. New knowledge acquired through research can be applied directly to patients. In turn, researchers are given direct feedback by physicians and other practitioners that enable scientists to quickly build on their discovery and make improvements.
Here is how it works. A typical first step in the process is to conduct basic research in the laboratory, which involves studying the cancer at a cellular and molecular level. The direction of the scientific research may be driven by the opportunity to address issues arising from clinical practice experience. The close relationship between research and clinical practice, where one or other may be driving the agenda to enhance patient outcomes, is characteristic of the Agency’s translational research program.
The next step is to take what is learned in the laboratory and turn it into a real prevention, diagnosis or treatment that could be tested in patients in subsequent clinical trials. This “bench to bedside” research is the basis for translational research. The ultimate goal is make the basic discovery as practical and effective as possible.
Examples of different types of translational research include testing a newly discovered drug in laboratory models of a cancer that are as close to the real life situation as possible, identifying the best way to give a new drug, determining how to efficiently manufacture a new drug and testing potential side effects in the lab before a new medication is given to people.
Similar processes occur for new preventions and medical tests as well. Once a new discovery has gone through the translational research process, it is ready to be tested in people in clinical trials. These trials determine how, when and where to use the new prevention, medical test or medication so that it is most effective with the fewest side effects and becomes the new ‘gold standard’ for most optimal management for patients with cancer.
In addition, it is important to make the new discovery as affordable and available as possible. Often during these trials, observations are made that will suggest that modifications to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment need to be made and so a new generation of basic and translational research will be conducted to improve the discovery even further.
Translational research is therefore not simply creating knowledge; it is creating knowledge and putting it into practice to better the lives of everyone affected by cancer. This integrated approach to research, prevention and patient care is one of the main reasons why B.C. has the best cancer outcomes in Canada.
Simon B. Sutcliffe, MD, FRCP, FRCPC, FRCR
President, BC Cancer Agency
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