An enormous anonymous donation of more than $18 million has been given to the BC Cancer Foundation to fund cutting-edge treatments. The news was announced in an article by the Foundation, which you can find here, on their website.
The Grant
The philanthropic grant of $18.346 million was made at the request of an anonymous donor. The money will be used to help people who suffer from metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread to new areas of the body from where it started). Specifically, the grant will establish and fund a program for Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, which will research cutting-edge radiopharmaceutical technology in clinical trials. Sarah Roth, President of the BC Cancer Foundation, says that the donation is “grounded in hope and science.”
The Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics Program
New research is finding that radioactive particles may be able to transport drugs specifically to cancer cells, killing them off, while having a reduced effect on the surrounding healthy tissues. The distinguished researcher and scientist Dr Bénard will lead BC Cancer’s program. There are plans to develop and grow the program over the next five years, with the first clinical trials investigating the use of radioligand therapy called Lutetium-177-based targeted therapy in men who have incurable metastatic prostate cancer. There are hopes that this form of therapy may also be used in other forms of cancer, such as metastatic melanoma, ovarian, breast, and blood cancers in the future.
The program is also planning to investigate the effectiveness of combining radioligand therapies with other forms of treatment, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The researchers also intend to use radiotracers and radiopharmaceuticals for prostate cancer.
