Liquid Biopsy: New perspectives in cancer treatment

In collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim

In this CRCHUM Prestige conference on September 24, Prof Trevor Pugh will introduce a strategy for whole genome sequencing to inform cancer diagnostics as well as early cancer detection and monitoring

His presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on the implementation of liquid biopsies in research centers and hospitals.

Title: Whole genome sequencing as a uniting force for cancer detection, diagnostics, and monitoring

To illustrate these applications, I will present data from three studies: CHARM, the Multiple Myeloma Molecular Monitoring (M4) study, and the Hepatocellular Carcinoma cohort of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (HCC-MOHCCN). In CHARM, we are employing shallow whole genome sequencing as a surveillance tool for carriers of 5 different hereditary cancer syndromes. 

In M4, we are using conventional whole genome sequencing of bone marrow aspirates taken at diagnosis to guide cell-free DNA minimal residual disease monitoring of multiple myeloma during long-term maintenance therapy. In HCC-MOHCCN, we are using cell-free DNA sequencing to predict outcomes following liver surgery and to reconstruct cancer genomes prior to surgery when diagnostic tissues are not available. 

Together, these studies illustrate the opportunity for use of clinical whole genome sequencing to inform cancer treatment throughout the cancer patient journey.

Schedule

4:00 p.m. – Trevor Pugh, Ph.D., ACMG, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research 

Whole genome sequencing as a uniting force for cancer detection, diagnostics, and monitoring

4:30 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. – Panel: 

The implementation of liquid biopsy in centers and hospitals

• Trevor Pugh, Ph.D., ACMG, Reseracher and geneticist, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
• Antoine Désilet, M.D., Oncologist, Cancer Researcher, CRCHUM
• Julia Burnier, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University
• Moderator: Isabelle Michaud, Patient Access Manager for the Province of Quebec, Boehringer Ingelheim

5:10 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Discussion with the audience

5:30 p.m. – Networking Cocktail

About the speakers and panelists

Trevor Pugh, PhD, ACMG  Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

Dr. Trevor Pugh, PhD, FACMG is a cancer genomics researcher and board-certified molecular geneticist at the forefront of precision medicine. As holder of the Canada Research Chair in Translational Genomics, he uses genome sequencing to understand causes of cancer, guide treatment of patients, and detect early disease using blood tests. He is appointed as Professor in the University of Toronto Department of Medical Biophysics, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Senior Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. 

He directs the OICR Genomics Program and the Princess Margaret Genomics Centre, genomics cores that specialize in single cell, cell-free DNA and clinically-accredited whole genome sequencing. He has contributed to multiple large-scale genomics and data-sharing programs including NCI TARGET, AACR GENIE, and the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. He leads the CHARM Consortium, an initiative to use cell-free DNA monitoring for all people with an inherited predisposition to cancer.

Antoine Desilets, MD  Hematologist-oncolopgist, CHUM, Researcher, Cancer theme, CRCHUM.

Dr. Antoine Desilets completed his medical training at McGill University in Montreal, followed by subspecialty training in medical oncology and hematology, with a focus on molecular diagnostics. He then pursued a three-year research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he worked on emerging cancer therapeutics guided by molecular biomarkers, including tumor next-generation sequencing and liquid biopsies.

In 2024, Dr. Desilets joined the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) as a hematologist-oncologist specializing in the treatment of thoracic and head and neck malignancies. He is also Co-Director of the Guy Lafleur Precision Oncology Program and a regular researcher at the Cancer Axis of CRCHUM, with a particular interest in early-phase precision oncology trials, molecular biomarkers, and liquid biopsies.

Julia Burnier, PhD,  Associate Professor, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University

Julia Burnier is an Associate Professor in Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology and the Department of Pathology at McGill University and a Scientist at the RI-MUHC. She is Director of the Liquid Biopsy lab within the Cancer Research Program (CRP) of the RI-MUHC and studies the role of tumor-derived (circulating) molecules in tumor progression and metastasis to find effective biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Dr. Burnier is a Fonds de Recherche en Santé Research Scholar, recipient of the Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Award (2021-2026), and William Dawson Scholar (2023-2028). She leads the Circulating Biomarkers of Health and Disease Network and the Liquid Biopsy Unit

Isabelle Michaud  Patient Access Manager for the province of Quebec, Boehringer Ingelheim

Isabelle Michaud has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with expertise in market access, health technology assessment, and stakeholder relations. A graduate of the Master’s program in Health Technology Assessment from the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal (ESPUM), she is recognized for her strategic, patient-centered approach.