The Personalized OncoGenomics Program

Who is eligible for POG?

This is a highly experimental research program for cancer patients being treated and consistently followed at BC Cancer. There are many specific inclusion criteria but the main ones to consider are:

• Patients with incurable, metastatic disease;
• Patients with limited or no prior chemotherapy;
• Fit and functionally well;
• Cancer that can be easily biopsied;
• Permanent B.C. residents receiving care and follow up in B.C.;
• Other disease/type specific criteria may also apply to individual cases.

How do patients get enrolled in POG?

For more information on POG and eligibility, BC patients should speak to their medical oncologist at their next scheduled visit. There are many other provinces with cancer genomic studies, patients should discuss their interest in clinical trials with their medical oncologist to explore their local options.

Further questions regarding POG can be directed to: POGinfo@bcgsc.ca. 

Each peer-reviewed POG publication has been a collaborative effort between bioinformaticians, scientists, technicians, engineers, medical geneticists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, genetic counsellors, trainees, coordinators and more.

Select POG Publications

Pleasance E, Bohm A, Williamson LM et al. Whole genome and transcriptome analysis enhances precision cancer treatment options. Annals of Oncology. 2022.

Read our News Story about this publication.

Pleasance E, Titmuss E, Williamson L et al. Pan-cancer analysis of advanced patient tumors reveals interactions between therapy and genomic landscapes. Nature Cancer. 2020.

Read our News Story about this publication.

Majounie E, Wee K, Williamson LM et al. Fluorouracil sensitivity in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with a somatic DPYD structural variant. Cold Spring Harbor Molecular Case Studies. 2019.

Read our News Story about this publication.

See a full list of POG publications here.

THE GLOBE & MAIL
Pitching in: Raising money for the BC Cancer Foundation
by Paul Waldie

CBC TV: THE NATURE OF THINGS
Cracking Cancer
by Judith Pyke

CBC RADIO: THE CURRENT
Clinical trial aims to crack cancer code using genome sequencing
by Liz Hoath

CBC DOCS: THE NATURE OF THINGS
BC Doctor Pioneers a New Approach to Cancer Treatment

CBC DOCS: THE NATURE OF THINGS
Everything You Need to Know About POG (Personalized OncoGenomics Program)

THE GLOBE & MAIL
Personalized cancer therapy changing the way doctors tackle disease
by James Keller

CTV NEWS
Blood pressure drug shrinks cancer in ‘miracle’ clinical trial

Get the latest news about the project, here.

Former POG Team Members

POG is pleased to announce that it is a member of the International Cancer Genome Consortium — Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology (ICGC-ARGO).

We gratefully acknowledge all funders and supporting partners of the BC Cancer Genome Sciences Center and the development of the Personalized OncoGenomics Program.

FUNDERS

This work would not be possible without the generous support of the following organizations: BC Cancer Foundation, Genome British Columbia,Terry Fox Research Institute Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, Genome Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, BC Knowledge Development Fund (Government of British Columbia), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Program (National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)), The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project (National Institutes of Health (NIH)), and The University of British Columbia (UBC).

PARTNERS

Thank you to the following organizations who support our work: Centre for Clinical Genomics (CCG), International Cancer Genome Consortium — Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology (ICGC-ARGO), BC Cancer Hereditary Cancer Program (HCP), Enhanced Pancreatic Cancer Profiling for Individualized Care (EPPIC) (Terry Fox Translational Research Program), Prospectively Defining Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Subtypes by Comprehensive Genomic Analysis (PanGen) (BC Cancer, Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), Pancreas Centre BC), PRecision Oncology For Young peopLE (PROFYLE) (Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI)), Terry Fox Designated Canadian Comprehensive Cancer Centres Network (TF4CN) (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), BC Cancer), Canadian Distributed Infrastructure for Genomics (CanDIG), Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative, Gilead Sciences, Vancouver General Hospital Pathology Biobank, St. Paul's Hospital Pathology Biobank, Personalized Approaches in the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (PATH).