CCS Breakthrough Team Grants - Transforming the Future of Metastatic Cancer

Metastasis, or the spread of cancer to other sites in the body, is the main cause of cancer-related mortality – sometimes occurring years after the primary cancer was treated. We now know that some cancer cells can evade treatment and become dormant, thereby escaping detection, only to awaken years later. How, when, and why cancer cells may become reactivated, including whether the immune system plays a role in the onset of metastasis, is not well understood. This hinders the development of new strategies that could effectively detect this spread early and stop it. Despite this knowledge gap, progress in the field has resulted in new treatments for people living with advanced or metastatic disease, enabling them to live longer than ever before. These advancements present new opportunities – and an urgent need – to better support people living with advanced or metastatic disease.

 

The intent of the CCS Breakthrough Team Grants model is to bring together passionate and talented teams of scientists, clinicians, patient partners, and knowledge users from across disciplines to work synergistically and ‘think big’ to address important gaps in cancer research that will be transformational for people affected by the disease.