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Powering progress in cancer research

Research Impact Report 2023-24
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Taking on cancer together

The world of cancer research is inspiring and moving so quickly. From vaccines to prevent cancer, to AI-based discoveries in large sets of cancer data, to clinical trials finding better treatments – cancer research is saving lives.

Almost half of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetimes. There is an urgent need to support the brilliant cancer researchers who can unlock the secrets of this disease.

Thank you for supporting cancer research! Because of your donations, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is funding the best research in the country. We invested an incredible $44.7 million in cancer research and innovation programs last year. This investment funded research across cancer types and across the cancer continuum – from prevention to diagnosis to treatment and beyond.

In this annual report, we are proud to share stories of impact from our cancer research program in 2023/24. Thanks to you, more than 3,000 people with cancer were able to take part in CCS-supported clinical trials. We engaged a growing network of people with cancer, survivors and caregivers in our strategy to ensure that our approach has a meaningful impact for people with cancer. To help strengthen Canada’s research ecosystem for the future, we launched new competitions to provide critical funding to the next generation of cancer researchers.

Our process of funding cancer research is unique in Canada. We set out challenges to the research community, seeking answers to cancer’s most difficult questions. With the help of leading scientists from Canada and around the world, we use a gold-standard peer review process to critique, rate and choose each project we invest in. We are not aligned to any one research centre, university or cancer centre. We find and we fund the most promising research in the country.

We believe that profound progress is possible when we act together. Thanks to the tremendous support and collective action of hundreds of thousands of people – from donors and funding partners to researchers, people with cancer, healthcare practitioners and cancer care delivery experts – CCS-funded research is changing lives.

To take on cancer, it takes all of us. It takes a society. Thank you for being part of our community – we are deeply grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Andrea Seale, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Cancer Society
Andrea Seale  
Chief Executive Officer  
Canadian Cancer Society  
D. Stuart Edmonds
Dr Stuart Edmonds  
Executive Vice President, Mission, Research and Advocacy  
Canadian Cancer Society
Dr. David Huntsman
Dr David Huntsman  
Scientific Chair  
Advisory Council on Research  
Canadian Cancer Society  
 

A year of research impact

[Various images of researchers in laboratories appear on screen]

Words on screen: Thanks to your generosity, in 2023 we invested an incredible $44.7 million in cancer research and innovation programs.

[Various images of researchers meeting and doing research tasks in laboratories appear on screen]

Words on screen: From prevention to diagnosis to treatment and beyond, this research saves and improves lives.

[Various images of researchers in laboratories and scientific conferences appear on screen]

Words on screen: We are working with researchers, healthcare practitioners, people with cancer, caregivers, and many others to drive scientific discoveries to change the future of cancer.

[Various images of researchers meeting with patients appear on screen]

Words on screen: Thanks to you, we provided critical funding for the next generation of cancer researchers…

[Various images of young researchers presenting at a conference appear on screen.]

Words on screen: … and enabled people to access life-changing clinical trials.

[Various images of a person with cancer taking medication and researchers analyzing information appear on screen.]

Words on screen: To take on cancer, it takes all of us.

[The Canadian Cancer Society wordmark “It Takes a Society” and logo appears on screen, with the words “Thank you”.]

Table of contents

Click on any topic below to jump to it. When you're ready to explore more, continue to scroll up or down, or hit 'Back to the top' to return here. 
Our research at a glance Impact Stories: How research is changing lives Our research programs: Supporting the most promising research Celebrating success: the CCS Awards for Excellence in Cancer Research   

Our research at a glance

At CCS, we’re uniting people across the country to fund and conduct research that is transforming the future of cancer. Thanks to your generosity, here are some of our achievements in 2023/24: 
$44.7M invested in high-impact research and innovation $44.7M invested in high-impact research and innovation
3,057 people provided access to life-changing clinical trials 3,057 people provided access to life-changing clinical trials
400 research projects funded across the cancer continuum 400 research projects funded across the cancer continuum
145 patient partners engaged to inform research decisions 145 patient partners engaged to inform research decisions
17 co-funders partnered with to make donations go further 17 co-funders partnered with to make donations go further
45 research institutions supported across all 10 provinces 45 research institutions supported across all 10 provinces
Dr Noor Shakfa, CCS-funded researcher
Thank you a million times, CCS donors! Your generosity fuels our curiosity. Deeply understanding this disease through research is how we get closer to saving lives.
– Dr Noor Shakfa, CCS-funded researcher, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health  

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Impact stories: How research is changing lives  

With your support, CCS-funded researchers are taking on cancer’s biggest challenges. And they’re making incredible progress. Their research is changing lives and improving how we prevent, diagnose, treat and live with and beyond cancer. Below are 4 stories of research advancements that are having an incredible impact for people with cancer. 

Improving quality of life for people with advanced cancer

Cancer treatments can extend life, but they often cause issues like reduced physical function, fatigue, pain and emotional distress in many people. Thankfully, a research project funded by CCS has shown promising results in helping people living with and beyond advanced cancer manage the negative effects of their treatment.
Read about how this research helped one woman’s recovery

Sparking hope for people with melanoma 

An innovative CCS-funded clinical trial launched in 2021 showed remarkable success in improving outcomes for people facing advanced skin cancer. Now, with additional funding from CCS and support from the Weston Family Foundation, a Phase 2 trial is being conducted through the Canadian Cancer Trials Group. The trial promises to bring these impressive results to even more people. 
Read about how this research changed one woman's life
Dr Alexander Wyatt is standing in his lab at the University of British Columbia

Finding the best treatment for people with prostate cancer

People can respond to cancer treatment in different ways, so identifying the right treatment for someone with cancer is a critical step toward saving and improving their life. A CCS-funded team of researchers has developed a new blood test that makes it possible to predict treatment responses for people with metastatic prostate cancer. Through a clinical trial, they found that the test outperformed other blood or imaging tests in estimating how well a person would respond to a new therapy and how quickly their cancer would progress. 
 
Read about how the test has kept a karate instructor active 
Dr Alexander Wyatt is standing in his lab at the University of British Columbia
Dr April Khademi is sitting next to a computer screen at the Toronto Metropolitan University

Using AI to advance cancer diagnosis and improve outcomes 

Currently, cancer is diagnosed by a pathologist who studies cells and tissues under a microscope. With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the rise, a CCS-funded team of researchers has created an AI-powered imaging tool that can help pathologists make more accurate and faster diagnoses, and ultimately improve care and outcomes for people with cancer. 
Read about how the AI tool is showing remarkable success
Dr April Khademi is sitting next to a computer screen at the Toronto Metropolitan University

It takes a society

CCS-funded researcher Dr Lee-Hwa Tai is developing a vaccine for triple-negative breast cancer. But she isn’t doing it alone. Watch this video to hear about the community of people behind her research. From her team at the University of Sherbrooke to patient advocates, the general public and CCS donors, Dr Tai shares her perspective on what it means to take on cancer together.
Dr Lee-Hwa Tai & The Canadian Cancer Society - It Takes A Society

[Dr Tai, a cancer researcher, sits slightly off to one side in front of a camera as she speaks. The camera cuts to a photo of her with other researchers in a lab.]

Dr Tai: Often when people think about cancer research, they think about the scientist alone in the lab. But there’s an entire team behind me.

[Yellow title screen appears]: IT TAKES A SOCIETY TO TAKE ON CANCER

[The Canadian Cancer Society logo appears on screen]: Dr Lee-Hwa Tai, cancer researcher

Dr Tai: Hello, I’m Dr Lee-Hwa Tai. I’m a cancer researcher and I work as a professor of immunology at the University of Sherbrooke.

[Photos of Dr Tai looking into a microscope and at a patient advocate event appear.]

Dr Tai: We are developing a new type of vaccine for breast cancer. Specifically for triple-negative breast cancer.

Dr Tai: Working with patient advocates and just the public in general is extremely important in cancer research. Without that lived experience, how do I know what’s important for the cancer patient? How do I know if a therapy that we’re trying to develop is tolerable? And without the financing from the Canadian Cancer Society my research would be at a standstill.

[Photos of Dr Tai and a researcher examining a test tube and Dr Tai examining petri dishes appear on screen.]

Dr Tai: It is a very, very long road of many moments. Many smaller breakthroughs that come together for that major breakthrough moment. We are definitely not alone in this endeavour.

[As Dr Tai finishes speaking, a montage of different faces appears in five split vertical frames on screen. Then the screen transitions to yellow and the Canadian Cancer Society logo appears]: IT TAKES A SOCIETY

[The Canadian Cancer Society logo appears on screen]: Get involved at cancer.ca

[Dr Tai, a cancer researcher, sits in front of a camera as she speaks.]

Dr Tai: Often when people think about cancer research, they think about the scientist alone in the lab.

[A photo of Dr Tai with other researchers in a lab appears on screen.]

Dr Tai: But there’s an entire team behind me that makes this entire research engine run.

[As Dr Tai finishes speaking, a montage of different faces appears in five split vertical frames on screen. Then the screen transitions to yellow and the Canadian Cancer Society logo appears]: IT TAKES A SOCIETY TO TAKE ON CANCER

[The Canadian Cancer Society logo appears on screen.]
Fred and Elizabeth Fountain, CCS donors
As long-time donors to the Canadian Cancer Society, we support cancer research because it’s vital to determining how to treat and cure cancer. We hope we can make a significant contribution to improve the lives of those affected by cancer.

- Fred and Elizabeth Fountain, CCS Donors

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Our research programs: Supporting the most promising research

In 2023/24, we continued our ambitious approach to funding the most promising cancer research and supporting the highest-performing research teams. Thanks to your generosity, CCS-funded research teams are uniting people with cancer, caregivers and leading experts from across the country in pursuit of the next great research discovery that could change the future of cancer.  
 
Read more about newly funded grants and ongoing research programs below:  

To promote growth and innovation, and elevate the next generation of diverse cancer researchers in Canada, together with our funding partners we committed $5.4 million to support 43 cancer research trainees at the master’s, PhD and postdoctoral levels. As part of the inaugural 2023 Research Training Awards program, we are offering career development workshops and other learning opportunities – known as the IGNITE program – to the trainees with the goal of building knowledge and deepening connections across the research community. 

Watch this video to learn more about how 3 trainees and their CCS-funded supervisors are working together.

A special thank you to our funding partners:

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research  
  • Canadian Partnership Against Cancer  
  • CancerCare Manitoba
  • Cancer Research Society
  • Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
  • The Terry Fox Research Institute
We are committed to strengthening the future of Canada’s cancer research community by funding promising early-career investigators (within 7 years from the start of their first independent academic appointment). Through the 2023 Emerging Scholar Research Grants, we are investing $8.75 million in 16 cancer research teams that are committed to pursuing important scientific advances of the highest quality and with the greatest potential for impact.  
We are investing $18.1 million in 35 research teams as part of the 2023 Challenge Grants competition. These projects span across the cancer continuum and disciplines to solve a challenge in cancer. With projects focused on over 15 cancer types and spanning from prevention to detection, treatment and care, these research teams are poised to make a meaningful difference for people affected by cancer.

As a national program of CCS, the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) brings together researchers, physicians, scientists, statisticians and patients to design and conduct clinical trials that aim to help people with cancer live longer, better quality lives. In 2023/24, CCS continued to provide core funding to CCTG, enabling more than 3,000 people from across the country to access potentially life-changing clinical trials.  

Learn more about this important investment. 

 

CCS Breakthrough Team Grants

Now in the second year of funding, the CCS Breakthrough Team Grants are supporting 10 world-class research teams that are transforming low-survival cancers. Watch this video to learn more about how these teams are uniting people from across Canada to improve outcomes for people affected by brain, lung, liver, esophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancers.  
 

CCS Breakthrough Team Grants

Words on screen: The CCS Breakthrough Team Grants are transforming the future of 6 low-survival cancers.

[Images from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Centre for Cancer Prevention and Support appear on screen.]

[Andrea Seale, CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society, appears on screen.]

Andrea: These are really important grants. When we look at the progress that's been made for people who are affected by cancer, the tremendous progress we've seen, that means there are so many survivors that gives us so much hope. But there are certain cancers for which the progress has been extremely slow.

[Various images of researchers in laboratories appear on screen.]

Words on screen: With our partners, we’re investing $55.5 million to accelerate progress in pancreatic, esophageal, brain, lung, liver, and stomach cancers, uniting research teams across Canada.

[Dr. Stuart Edmonds appears on screen. He is the executive vice president of mission, research, and advocacy at the Canadian Cancer Society.]

Stuart: Bringing together researchers, clinicians, patients, policymakers, to really work together to collaborate, not just in one city, one province, but across the country to address the issues with these cancers is so important.

[Images of Stuart speaking at the Breakthrough Team Grants conference appear on screen.]

Words on screen: Together, we are making a difference for people affected by low-survival cancers.

[Various images of researchers at the Breakthrough Team Grants conference appear on screen.]

[Dr. Robin Urquhart, CCS-funded researcher, appears on screen.]

Dr. Urquhart: We have an incredible cancer research community in Canada, like incredible research programs. I feel like there's so much hope for the future.

[More images of researchers at the Breakthrough Team Grants conference appear on screen.]

[Andrew Ajisebutu, PhD candidate and CCS-funded research team member, appears on screen.]

Andrew: I've seen many patients go through cancer. I've given this diagnosis to many people. We're not alone. The researchers are not alone in worrying about this. Patients are not alone, and physicians are not alone in treating this. But we're all coming together to make a big difference.

[Various images of researchers doing research tasks in laboratories appear on screen.]

[Kathy Palmer, pancreatic cancer survivor and CCS patient partner in research, appears on screen.]

Kathy: It makes me feel good. It really does because as a pancreatic cancer survivor, sometimes I feel a little bit isolated and alone, and so it makes me realize that it does take a village, right? That there are so many other people across Canada that are working to solve the problem.

[Various images of researchers in laboratories appear on screen.]

Words on screen: With the support of our donors and partners, we’re funding world-leading research.

[Images of Dr. Urquhart speaking at the Breakthrough Team Grants conference appear on screen.]

Dr. Urquhart: All of the progress that we've made in cancer and reducing the cancer burden, we just couldn't do that without Canadians that give generously all the time.

[Andrew appears on screen.]

Andrew: My hope is that we can take your donations and make a major difference in the lives of the patients that suffer from these diseases.

[Andrea appears on screen.]

Andrea: None of us can do this alone. We have to come together to make big change happen.

[Kathy appears on screen.]

Kathy: It takes all of us to take on cancer and thank you for contributing to research.

[An image of researchers in laboratories and a building with the name of the Canadian Cancer Society appears on the screen.]

Words on screen: To take on cancer, it takes all of us. Support cancer research today. Visit cancer.ca/donate

Words on screen: A special thank you to our partners:

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Brain Canada

Canada Research Society

Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation

[The Canadian Cancer Society wordmark “It Takes a Society” and logo appears on screen.]

More research stories

Chantel Mukonoweshuro in front of tall bushes.
Story
Training next-gen cancer researchers
A person in a head scarf and a child playing with a toy on a couch.
Story
4 research projects improving cancer care in rural and remote areas
Headshot of Dr Groot
Story
Improving cancer care for Indigenous communities
Dr Nicole Culos-Reed and her team are posing on an outdoor terrace with trees behind them
Story
5 research projects helping people with cancer stay active
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Celebrating success: CCS Awards for Excellence in Cancer Research 

The CCS Awards for Excellence in Cancer Research honour some of the amazing research talent and leaders in Canada – people who have played an important role in advancing cancer research that improves cancer outcomes.

Last year, the awards recognized 6 brilliant cancer researchers: Dr Frances Shepherd, Dr Gary Groot, Dr Amit Oza, Dr Samuel Aparicio, Dr Housheng He and Dr Sumit Gupta. From transforming the current standard of care to championing health equity, these researchers have made valuable and meaningful contributions across a broad spectrum of cancer research, including breast, colorectal, gynecological, lung, prostate and childhood cancers.
CCS Awards for Excellence in Cancer Research 

Words on Screen: In 2022/23, we recognized 6 cancer researchers for their outstanding achievements through the CCS’s Awards for Excellence. 

Words on Screen: This is what it means to them. 

[Dr Frances Shepherd, 2022 CCS’s Lifetime Contribution Prize Winner, looks to the camera as she speaks.] 
 
Dr Shepherd: This award is especially meaningful for me. I have spent a 40-year career doing research in the treatment of lung cancer. This is a recognition of that career, and I am so grateful.  

[Dr Gary Groot, 2022 CCS’s Inclusive Excellence Prize Winner, looks to the camera as he speaks.] 

Dr Groot: It's very humbling. And it's humbling because, yeah, it's nice to have the validation, but it's not me that really deserves this award. It's the patients that we that we work with, the communities that we that I've worked with. 
 
[Dr Samuel Aparicio, 2022 CCS’s Robert L. Noble Prize Winner, looks to the camera as he speaks.] 

Dr Aparicio: I'm very honoured to have been selected for this award. And I think the huge significance is for the team of people that I've worked with.  
 
[Dr Amit Oza, 2022 CCS’s O. Harold Warwick Prize Winner, looks to the camera as he speaks.] 
 
Dr Oza: For me, it actually recognizes the importance of teams and teamwork and particularly acknowledges the work of patients in terms of participating in clinical trials.  

[Dr Sumit Gupta, 2022 CCS’s William E. Rawls Prize Winner, looks to the camera as he speaks.] 

Dr Gupta: This award means a lot to me. It's a recognition of the efforts, not just on my part, but on the part of lots and lots of people. 
 
[Dr Housheng He, 2022 CCS’s Bernard and Francine Dorval Prize Winner, looks to the camera as he speaks.] 
 
Dr He: And I'm really glad that our work has been recognized by the community and CCS. 

[The screen transitions to yellow and the Canadian Cancer Society logo appears]: IT TAKES A SOCIETY 

Angus's story

Angus Pratt has been living with male breast cancer and advanced lung cancer since 2018. Thanks to research advancements, he is still alive today despite his initial prognosis. Watch this video to hear Angus talk about his cancer experience, his role as a patient partner helping CCS make important research funding decisions, and why he believes it is so important to fund cancer research.  
 Angus' story 

[Over a black screen, the sound of slow breathing is heard. A few dim lights start to appear on screen.] 

Angus: I was told I had a 5% chance that I would make it 5 years. And uh, I'm at year six. 

[Angus, a middle-aged man, lies sleeping in bed, breathing heavily. In the next scene, he is jogging outside on a cold day. He is wearing a red toque. He stops and is panting.] 

Angus: Well, at first, a lot of people didn't know that men could get breast cancer. 

[Now inside, Angus is blowing on a steaming cup. He is painting daffodils on a card over his kitchen counter.] 

Angus: Out of 100 people who get it, one will be a man. 

[Angus takes off his glasses and drinks from his cup.  There is a view of the outdoors through the window of his house and a wind chime in the back. The wind chime is making sounds. Cut to Angus, lying on his bed.] 

Angus: When I got the diagnosis that I also had lung cancer, and it was another primary, that's when I realized this was going to kill me. 

[Angus is lying on an MRI scanner bed, sliding slowly into the machine. A woman gives some instructions through a speaker. Images of the MRI scan of Angus’s lungs appear on screen. A computer screen with the URL cancerconnection.ca appears on the screen. This changes into someone typing a message.] 

Angus: These are powerful moments. It's the reflection. This could be me.  
[Angus sits in front of a laptop during a meeting. Several participants appear on the screen].  

One of the participants: Yeah, we're all gonna, at some point be sharing our passing.] 

[Angus walking outdoors with another person and a dog.] 

Angus: There's a stigma to lung cancer. I'm not a smoker. 

[Angus is taking something out of the trunk of a car.] 

Angus: But there's this idea that people who smoke deserve lung cancer somehow. 

[Now Angus is waiting on a train platform. The train is approaching.] 

Angus: I ask myself: what kind of a life can I have? What can I do with the time that's left to me? 

[Several images of a city appear on screen. Now Angus is speaking at a conference in front of an audience.]  

Angus in the conference: Three weeks ago, I had a wake-up call with my family physician. He did not expect to see me, he wrote me off on day 2. 

[Angus talking to a person in a conference room.] 

Angus: I want to reach out to support others with some of the comfort that I've been given. 

[Angus is in a support group meeting. He is speaking as several people listen.]  

Angus: You know you look at a rose like this and you notice that the edges are curling a little bit and nothing lasts forever. But in this moment, it is beautiful.  

[Angus ironing a shirt in his hotel room.]  

Angus: I want to change the narrative. Anyone who has lungs can get lung cancer. That's what led me to advocacy. 

[Angus, sitting in the audience during a conference. He is taking notes. Angus sitting outside with many people and after he is leaning on a fence eating with a sunset in the background.] 

Angus: I was really surprised when I spoke to oncologists who said they were shunned because they were looking at lung cancer. 

[Angus, back in his home, speaking with his laptop in front of him.] 

Angus: There's a lack of research 

[Angus is in another hotel room. He is sitting in the audience in another conference room.] 

Angus: because people just don't want to be associated with this disease. 

[Angus sitting on the beach writing in a notebook.] 

Angus: I'm excited to work with the Canadian Cancer Society to offer a patient's perspective as the research funding decisions are being made. I want that to be part of my legacy. 

[Walking on the beach, Angus is talking on the phone with his headphones on.]  

Angus: It's been a good conference, waves are crashing, it's really a beautiful night here. Can you hear it? 

Angus: We need funding for research. It's what brings the innovation and that's ultimately what gives us hope. 

[Angus writing on a piece of paper in his home. He blows out a candle.] 

Words appear on the screen: It takes all of us to take on cancer. By supporting research innovations, you can transform the future of cancer forever. Please give generously. 

[The Canadian Cancer Society wordmark “It Takes a Society” and logo appears on screen.] 

Thank you

Your support of cancer research is helping us drive meaningful progress that can save and improve lives. Together, with our donors, partners and supporters, we are making life better today and transforming the future of cancer forever.  

To learn more about our research or make a donation, visit cancer.ca or call 1-888-939-3333.  
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