CCS-funded practice-changers in 2025/26

Glioblastoma is the most common and deadly form of brain cancer and is more frequently diagnosed in older people. Although younger people with glioblastoma benefit from adding the chemotherapy drug temozolomide to radiotherapy, this approach had not been widely used in people over 70 – leaving older adults with no clear standard for treatment. 

In a landmark clinical trial led by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group and funded by CCS, Dr James Perry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Dr Normand Laperriere at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre found that combining temozolomide with a short course of radiation therapy increased the 1-year survival rate from 22.2% to 37.8% and the 2-year survival rate from 2.8% to 10.4% in people aged 65 and older. This treatment could lengthen the lives of people with glioblastoma without significantly affecting their quality of life. The findings are now shaping how glioblastoma is treated in older adults in Canada and around the world.

It was a frightening situation for Francis, a 34-year-old musician and singer. A tumour was growing uncontrollably in his sinus and throat, putting his voice and eye at risk. He needed treatment – fast. 

Fortunately, CCS-funded surgeon and researcher Dr Eitan Prisman at the University of British Columbia had been working on exactly the kind of approach he needed. Reaching Francis’s tumour would involve removing cancerous bone from the right side of his skull and rebuilding it with bone from his shoulder blade – a delicate, highly complex procedure that demanded precise planning and execution. 

Dr Prisman and his team are developing a virtual surgical planning platform for reconstruction in people with head and neck cancer. With support from CCS, they have created software that uses medical images to virtually preplan reconstructions and generate 3D printed cutting guides to improve precision in the operating room. The technology is still evolving with the goal of real-time adjustments during surgery, but patients like Francis are already benefitting. 

Before Francis’s surgery, Dr Prisman used 3D-printed models of his skull to walk him through the procedure, helping him understand what to expect. The 8-hour surgery, assisted by Dr Prisman’s new platform, was a success. The tumour was safely removed, Francis kept his eye and vision and, after months of recovery, regained his voice and full motor function in his arm – just in time to launch a new album with his band, Doohickey Cubicle! 

Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps the body’s immune system recognize and attack cancer. In a groundbreakinglandmark international clinical trial supported by CCS, researchers found that adding nivolumab, an immunotherapy drug, to standard chemotherapy treatment for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma significantly lowered the risk of death or disease progression in teens and adults. About 92% of participants using the new drug combination were alive after 2 years and reported fewer side effects than people receiving the standard treatment at the time. 

The trial was a collaboration between the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) in the United States and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (a national program of CCS). Dr Kelly Davison from McGill University Health Centre led the Canadian arm of the study, which hadenrolled a total of almost 1,000 participants aged 12 and older. Adding nivolumab to chemotherapy is now a standard treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma in Canada and the United States, helping to save and improve the lives of people diagnosed with this cancer.