The Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) continues to provide core genomic sequencing and bioinformatics services in support of the BC Contribution to the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN). MOHCCN is a national initiative led by the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) and the Terry Fox Foundation to bring together cancer research and care centres across Canada to accelerate the integration of advanced genomics into cancer care. In British Columbia, the BC Cancer–UBC Cancer Consortium (BC2C), supported by Genome BC, the BC Cancer Foundation, and UBC, is a key provincial partner in the MOHCCN.
Over the past year, the BC2C team have made significant contributions to the Network’s goals of advancing precision oncology, including contributing 866 patient cases to the Network’s Gold Cohort, a growing national resource of clinically and genomically characterized cancer cases. These represent a wide range of tumor types including acute myeloid leukemia, pancreatic, lymphoid, breast, prostate, pediatric brain tumors, and more. With a cumulative 2,712 cases submitted to date, British Columbia remains one of the largest and most consistent contributors to the network.
This work has been made possible by over $40 million in combined federal and provincial funding. In the past year alone, BC’s contribution was supported by $5.7 million from TFRI and $7.8 million in matching funds, including $6.7 million from the BC Cancer Foundation, enabling the province to exceed its annual accrual target by 20%.
A recent milestone for the network was the publication of its first marker paper in Cancer Cell authored by BC Cancer investigators affiliated with the GSC. The paper outlines the structure, vision, and collaborative model of the MOHCCN, and highlights the promise of integrated clinical and genomic data to accelerate discovery and improve cancer outcomes.
? Read more about the publication and the project
Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2025.03.014
Through its technical and scientific contributions, the GSC is proud to support this pan-Canadian effort to advance cancer research and drive real-world impact for patients across the country.
