Individuals living with androgenic-PCOS have had few choices and effective therapy options for many years. This 6-month open-label trial is exploring cyclic oral micronized progesterone and spironolactone as an option for individuals who are not tolerating or are dissatisfied with CHC. There is a strong rationale for use of each of these therapies. It may be that these results lead to improved PCOS quality of life, more regular cycles, less psychologically devastating skin/hair changes and improved fertility. Should this pilot study show what we expect—better PCOS-Q quality of life including emotional, weight, hirsutism, cycles and fertility domains, it will have provided the first evidence supporting a potentially important new therapy for PCOS. This new therapy might be life-changing for some individuals in BC who are now struggling to deal with the changes associated with living with androgenic-PCOS. This project is supported by CANTRAIN-CTTP & Michael Smith Health Research BC Masters’ Studentship 2023 Award Program. Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, the principal investigator is an endocrinology professor at the University of British Columbia, is the scientific director of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research and my supervisor.
Program: CANTRAIN
Effects of budesonide on responses to diesel exhaust and allergen exposures in allergic rhinitis
About one in every four Canadians suffers from a disease called allergic rhinitis. This causes symptoms like sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and difficulty breathing, especially when people inhale allergens from sources like trees and grasses. A type of medicine called nasal corticosteroids can usually help reduce these symptoms.
However, we do not know how exposure to air pollution, such as diesel exhaust, which is common in cities and industrial areas, might make this disease worse. We also do not know if nasal corticosteroids can help reduce the effects of exposure to diesel exhaust.
To investigate this, we conducted a study where we exposed people with allergic rhinitis to allergens and diesel exhaust separately, both with and without the use of nasal corticosteroids. This study was conducted at the Air Pollution Exposure Laboratory (APEL), a leading research facility that uses advanced controlled exposure methods to study how air pollution affects human health.
I will be looking at changes in how the nose functions as well as the levels of cells and small proteins in the nose that can underly symptoms, to see if nasal corticosteroids can effectively treat the effects of exposure to allergens and diesel exhaust.
The Master’s Studentship 2023 Award, supported by the Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training Platform (CANTRAIN) Clinical Trials Training Program and Michael Smith Health Research BC, will thus help us evaluate a low-cost, accessible treatment for this growing health concern. This work will be supported by the Legacy for Airway Health (LAH), which supports knowledge translation and allows us to consult directly with patients. Since this work is being done in British Columbia, it also helps build local expertise in respiratory clinical trials and research.
Addressing equity in clinical trials: development of a rural clinical trials research program
Clinical trials are essential for the development and optimization of medical therapies. However, clinical trial access is limited in rural and small communities in Canada. This is an important health equity issue as rural populations often to not have the opportunity to access investigational therapies and clinical trial results often do not reflect the health of rural populations. This project, which is funded by the CANTRAIN Clinical Trials Training Program, Michael Smith Health Research BC, the Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. This project aims to build a rural clinical trials program in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. It will build develop partnerships among educational institutions, Interior Health and community organizations. A community advisory board will be developed to seek community input into the program development and clinical trial selection. The principal investigator is Dr. Denise Jaworsky who is a rural general internal medicine specialist, but this project is a collaboration among a team of researchers from Interior Health, UBC and College of the Rockies. This project aims to improve clinical trial access for populations in the East Kootenay region and develop models and best practices to support rural clinical trial access in other rural communities in Canada.
SIMPLIFY-SABR-COMET
This project is an international randomized clinical trial being implemented across 12 Canadian and 5 International centers exploring the effectiveness of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) in the treatment of oligometastatic cancer. SABR is a modern radiotherapy technique for cancer treatment that delivers high doses of radiation to small tumor targets, while trying to avoid healthy tissues and organs. However, SABR treatment requires increased planning, treatment time, cost and potential for higher toxicity due to the higher dose and avoidance of nearby normal tissue. The purpose of this study is to compare different doses of SABR regarding toxicity, progression-free survival, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness.
Along with funding from The CANadian Consortium of Clinical Trial TRAINing platform (CANTRAIN), The Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC) will be providing funding as part of the 2023-2024 CANTRAIN Doctoral Studentship to help develop the project in British Columbia.
Our research team is based in Northern BC in Prince George at BC Cancer – Prince George with a focus on radiotherapy research and large-scale clinical trials. This project is based on previous research from our lab, and it is being developed to build on our previous findings.
The outcomes of this project will contribute valuable insights to shape cancer treatment approaches, policies, and decision-making processes, considering their impact on healthcare resources and the burden on patients.
Enhancing Early Relapse Detection in Testicular Cancer through Rolling Circle Amplification of microRNA Biomarkers
This project aims to improve the accuracy of early-stage testicular germ cell tumor (GCT) relapse detection in patients through rolling circle amplification (RCA) of plasma microRNA miR371. GCTs pose a significant challenge in clinical management due to the lack of sensitive and specific biomarkers for early relapse detection. Patients are at risk of over-treatment and long-term chemotherapy toxicity that negatively impacts life expectancy and quality of life. Patient blood samples from the BC provincial genitourinary biobank will be used.
Commonly used Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based detection methods have limitations such as precise temperature control requirements that other isothermal amplification techniques lack. RCA is an isothermal method that is effective in treatment and research applications. The clinical validity of microRNA miR371a-3p has been shown to be a potential biomarker for non-teratoma GCTs. However, the sensitivity of this biomarker in early-stage GCT detection using current PCR methods is low, and more accurate methods to detect smaller amounts of circulating miR371 are needed. RCA result sensitivity will be evaluated against PCR results.
The successful implementation of RCA will validate a more sensitive method for miR371 analysis. This will enhance clinical decision-making, reduce treatment toxicity, and extend the reach and applicability of early GCT relapse detection to resource-limited settings.
Andy Jia is a Master of Science student specializing in Interdisciplinary Oncology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The project will be conducted in the Nappi Lab at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, which has extensive experience in miR371 analysis.
The Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training Platform (CANTRAIN) and Michael Smith Health Research BC provide funding through the CANTRAIN-CTTP & Michael Smith Health Research BC Master’s Studentship 2023 Award Program.