Dr Quincy Chu has always been laser-focused on helping patients live longer and better. And clinical trials – research studies that test new ways to take on cancer – are an essential step to doing that.
An international clinical trial led by Dr Chu found that adding an immunotherapy drug to standard chemotherapy can significantly improve long‑term survival for an aggressive cancer called mesothelioma. The results of the study are already reshaping cancer care in Canada and beyond, thanks to Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) donors.
This is how progress happens. Clinical trials may help patients today, but the learning from them helps patients tomorrow – in Canada and around the world.
Increasing long-term survival for patients
Until recently, mesothelioma patients who received standard chemotherapy lived just over a year on average. Dr Chu’s trial demonstrated that at 3 years, 25% of patients receiving the new combination treatment were still alive, compared with 17% treated with chemotherapy alone. Strikingly, the treatment reduced the risk of death by about 21%.
For me, success isn’t only about helping patients live longer. It’s about helping them live better.
Cancer treatments can be harsh with overwhelming side effects. In the clinical trial led by Dr Chu, adding immunotherapy did not increase chemotherapy‑related side effects, and the immunotherapy itself was generally well-tolerated. Patients reported a similar quality of life, even with treatment lasting up to 2 years.
Donor support helped make this discovery possible
This trial is changing the standard of care for people facing mesothelioma. The new treatment has now been approved for use in Canada and has already become part of standard care in some countries.
Donor funding was critical to bringing the multi-year trial to completion. Donations also enabled researchers to run biological studies to understand why the treatment works, who benefits most and why some patients eventually stop responding.
This knowledge will allow the next generation of treatments to be even more effective.
Through donor support, CCS provides foundational funding to the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), Canada's largest cooperative group for cancer clinical trials, which backed Dr Chu's trial. In 2024, CCS invested over $16 million, enabling almost 4,000 patients to access new interventions through 119 clinical trials. Tomorrow's cancer breakthroughs depend on investments we make today.
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