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Stan Czebruk, a patient with cancer, describes his fight against melanoma following a press conference held in Montreal on Thursday, June 28, 2018.
John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Stan Czebruk was 51 years old and was hiking in the Highlands of Scotland in 2009 when his wife called. This cyst on his left ear that the doctors had examined a few months earlier was a melanoma. He had his earlobe removed at the McGill University Health Center, but since the melanoma was near his neck and several large veins, the doctors were watching him closely.
Two years later, the cancer spread to the lungs. Then he moved to his head. He tried chemotherapy, with limited success, then the doctors tried immunotherapy, stimulating his immune system by creating more white blood cells to attack the cancer cells. In 2014, they released two large tumors from his head and used 45 plastic staples to sew his scalp. (Fortunately, "it turns out that a craniotomy does not hurt," said Czebruk.) In 2015, more tumors emerged, and they operated again, this time using 65 staples for close it.
The treatments worked. Last year, the cancer was in remission, and now, at the age of 60, it is cancer free.
"I found life again," says Czebruk.
He walks one to two hours a day and plans to resume hockey. In September, he returns to Concordia to graduate in his first love – geography.
Czebruk was lucky. Immunotherapy has succeeded for him, but this is not for 70 to 80% of the patients who are trying it.
In an effort to find out why it works for some and not others, and improve the chances of survival for cancer patients, the Terry Fox Research Institute announced Thursday the creation of Montreal Cancer Consortium (MCC) bringing together seven hospitals and research centers that will compare notes, scientific research and patient samples to develop new cancer control strategies in the field of immunotherapy. A two-year pilot project that organizers hope to expand will initially focus on immunotherapy treatments for melanoma and acute leukemia, possibly utilizing data from more than 18,000 patients treated annually for cancer.
According to Ian Watson, Canada Research Chair in Functional Genomics of Melanoma and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at McGill University, Montreal could understand why some patients respond to immunotherapies and others do not, to develop lamination tools to improve precision medicine.
He helped launch the MCC project with Dr. John Stagg from the Research Center of the University Hospital of Montreal (CRCHUM).
Immunotherapy has been shown to produce long-term, sustainable responses. Watson noted, while patients often develop resistance to other therapies.
"We want" I understand how it works and I bring it to other patients, "he said
Patients will be invited to participate in studies, and experts in various fields of research will conduct studies on patient samples
. The consortium is the Goodman Cancer Research Center, the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, the Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, the Center Génome Québec Innovation Center and the McGill University Research Institute. University Health Center
The CMC will receive $ 6.5 million over the next two years from several agencies, including the Terry Fox Research Institute, Oncopole and the Institute. Montreal Cancer Center. The Terry Fox Research Institute is working to create a pan-Canadian network of related cancer centers to share knowledge and techniques.
"It worked for me," said Czebruk. "Will I still be cured?" I hope, but in one way or another, I know that thanks to technology, through research, they will find other ways to fighting deadly cancer … In the end, there is hope for cancer patients. "
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