Toronto, Ontario - Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children and adolescents in Canada. Approximately 10,000 children are living with cancer in this country and 1,500 more are diagnosed every year. That is why, in Budget 2021, the Government of Canada provided new funding for pediatric cancer research that will lead to better outcomes and longer, healthier lives for young cancer patients.
Today, Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Sport, and Pam Damoff, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, announced, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, $23 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to establish the Canadian Pediatric Cancer Consortium (CPCC). This represents the largest investment in childhood cancer research in Canada to date. The Consortium will be led by Dr. David Malkin and Dr. Jim Whitlock at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto and Pediatric Cancer Advocate Adrienne Co-Dyre in London, Ontario.
The CPCC's vision is for every child in Canada with cancer to have access to the latest scientific advances, diagnostic tools, therapies, and supportive care to help support better outcomes and a better quality of life. It will do this by strengthening research, health supports, and clinical expertise in pediatric cancers through the creation of a national network of clinicians, researchers, community of practice caregivers, patients and their families. By the end of the two-year funding period, the CPCC will have a framework on which to build and enable Canadian-led early phase clinical trials, faster access for patients to innovative technologies, therapies and care, a collaborative approach to education and training, and a robust network of national and international partnerships.
