As 40 local hockey players brave the elements on an outdoor rink just outside Sherwood Park for the World's Longest Hockey Game, they'll be making a difference in the lives of cancer patients in Edmonton. Over the course of more than 10 days and nights of non-stop shinny, the game, beginning today on World Cancer Day, will support what may be the most important milestone of any potential new treatment—a clinical trial.
Clinical trials represent the last stage before new therapies can be submitted for approval from governing health authorities and make their way into clinical practice. Funds from this year's marathon game will bolster a clinical trial for a precision cancer drug discovered by University of Alberta cell biologist Luc Berthiaume.
The drug, PCLX-001, has shown positive results against breast, lung, bladder and pancreas cancers. Current studies show it has the greatest effect in blood cancers resistant to standard treatment by shutting down abnormal chemical signalling in many common cancers and triggering those cells to die, while sparing the normal, healthy cells.
"If it works, we've got to prove it works. We can't let a good thing fail," said John Mackey, U of A oncology professor and director of clinical trials at the Cross Cancer Institute, who is leading the PCLX-001 clinical research team.
"Every year in Alberta, we have a few thousand people die of cancer. And every month that goes by means that if we have an effective drug and we haven't moved it forward, we could have dropped that number. Our goal is to get it over the finish line as quickly as we can."
Funds raised from the game will help cover the cost for the PCLX-001 drug, examinations, patient care and an ongoing analysis of how well the drug is working.
Decade of research culminates in crucial clinical trials
Mackey and Berthiaume have spent much of the last decade driving forward work on PCLX-001, culminating in a clinical trial that will begin this spring concurrently in three Canadian cancer centres: the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, the B.C. Cancer Centre in Vancouver and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. The Edmonton trials will be undertaken by associate professor of oncology Randeep Sangha and involve upwards of 60 patients with lymphoma or solid tumours. The study will combine Phase 1 and Phase 2A clinical trials, testing for drug safety and drug efficacy. If successful, the team would then pursue a Phase 3 clinical trial, comparing the safety and effectiveness of PCLX-001 against the current standard treatment.
The study for PCLX-001 is the first time a potential new cancer drug coming from Alberta scientists has reached the clinic in more than 30 years. Mackey says in the next year, two more new, made-in-Alberta cancer-fighting innovations are expected to make the leap to clinical trials, signalling a major advance in bringing Alberta scientific ingenuity closer to patients.
Oncology professor John Mackey talks about the significance of upcoming clinical trials for the cancer drug PCLX-001 and what it could mean for patients in Alberta and across Canada.
Alberta has a fertile health innovation ecosystem focused on clinical trials. Lawrence Richer, vice-dean of research for the U of A's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and director of the Northern Alberta Clinical Trials and Research Centre (NACTRC), is responsible for building capacity for clinical trials in the Edmonton region, improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of clinical research.
"Clinical trials are the absolute necessary gold standard approach to having an innovation reach humans," said Richer.
Pandemic underscores importance of research
According to Richer, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the search for vaccines and treatments have emphasized the importance of well-run clinical trials for many in the public. Since the pandemic began, many people have come forward asking how they can participate in clinical trials.
"People are curious about research when it's relevant to them. And COVID-19 has made research relevant to absolutely everyone in this province," said Richer.
Last summer, Be The Cure
