$ 6M to Fight Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Lucy Gilbert’s research team will receive $4 million in Genomics Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) funding to finalize the development of DOvEEgene (Detecting Ovarian and Endometrial cancers Early using genomics) — a screening test that could save thousands of lives every year in Canada and millions of lives worldwide.

This financial support will triple the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation’s $2 million Dream Big: Stop the Silent KillerCampaign. Along with the MUHC Foundation, GAPP partners Genome Canada and Genome Quebec will each contribute a third of the funds respectively to bring the DOvEEgene test through the final clinical trial needed for it to be implemented as a standard of care. Thanks to the generosity and commitment of our donors, the MUHC Foundation has raised $1.2 million to date for the Campaign. Our dedicated volunteers are determined to provide Dr. Gilbert the remaining funds she needs to bring the DOvEEgene test through the final clinical trial. In collaboration with Optilab-MUHC, the research team, led by Dr. Gilbert, Director of the Gynecologic Oncology at the MUHC and Senior Investigator at the RI-MUHC, and her colleague Dr. Kris Jardon, also a gynecologist oncologist and investigator at the RI-MUHC, aim to deliver within the next few years a diagnostic test available to family doctors and gynecologists capable of detecting more than 70 per cent of early ovarian and endometrial cancers with a false positive rate near zero. Currently, there is no test that offers this level of accuracy.

“With the support of Genome Canada, Genome Québec and our Foundation, Dr. Gilbert and her team at the MUHC and McGill University are one step closer to making the DOvEEgene test a standard of care. This test represents a major advancement in the early detection of ovarian and endometrial cancers, with the power to save the lives of countless women in Montreal, Quebec and across Canada,” notes Julie Quenneville, President, MUHC Foundation.

Fighting a silent killer

Together, endometrial and ovarian cancers affect about 10,000 women in Canada every year and are responsible for more than 3,000 deaths. Cure rates associated with these cancers have not changed in 30 years.

“Dr. Gilbert saved my life, and I am honoured to serve as Co-Chair of the fundraising campaign that will send the DovEEgene test to clinical trial and ultimately save the lives of women across the country,” says Joanne Photiades, ovarian cancer survivor and Co-Chair of the MUHC Foundation’s DovEEgene fundraising campaign. “The support of Genome Canada and Genome Quebec has been instrumental in the success of our campaign, and highlights in equal measure the devastating effects of these cancers and Dr. Gilbert’s dedication to fighting them.”

Thanks to our donors, we’ve raised $1.2 million and counting for the DOvEE Campaign. You too can help us stop the silent killer.