Gerald C. Baines Centre for Translational Cancer Research (Baines Centre) was brought to life with a vision for improved cancer treatments and patient outcomes. With outstanding support and generosity from our community, the Baines Centre raised enough funds to expand programs, grow clinical trials, hire much needed staff and conduct life-saving research.
Today, the Baines Centre remains a busy hub, where translational research investigators work together to generate novel approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. With a strong focus on innovation, knowledge generation and rapid translation of discoveries, the Baines Centre is now an incubator for ideas that are saving and extending lives in our community and around the world.
Clinical Trials
Dr. Jacques Raphael
Clinical trials at the Baines Centre are essential to advancing cancer care and expanding our understanding of the disease. Here are just a few highlights of the work underway.
The Cancer Clinical Research Unit (CCRU) coordinates and supports protocol management and clinical/translational research projects that carry high impact for advancing cancer knowledge and patient care. The team regularly recruits 250–400 participants each year for 50–70 active trials. This high level of participation has resulted in changes to standards of care, leading to more options for individuals facing cancer.
CHASE-PDAC, MIMic, PERFORM & ME.17
London researchers are among the first in the world to pioneer the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in cancer care. This unique bench-to-bedside capability positions this Southwestern Ontario city at the forefront of microbiome-based cancer therapeutics, with the potential to meaningfully expand treatment options for patients.
The groundbreaking ARREST trial, led by Dr. Timothy Nguyen and Dr. Glenn Bauman, demonstrated that high-precision radiation therapy is safe and effective for patients with metastatic cancer. Made possible with donor funding, this ambitious study offers hope for expanded treatment options and improved quality of life.
Baines Imaging
Dr. Sarah Mattonen, Dr. Aaron Ward & Dr. Len Luyt
Donor support has, and continues to be, critical to improving imaging technology and diagnostics. Through advancements in cancer image analysis, the team is working to make treatment more accurate and efficient, improving survival for patients. Because the more we can see, the better we can treat.
The Mattonen Lab develops tools in image segmentation, image feature extraction, and outcome modelling to correlate imaging features with clinical outcomes. These computational imaging models will assist clinicians in decision-making and allow for personalized medicine, with the goal of improving outcomes for cancer patients.
Computer systems are becoming an important component of cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Aaron Ward and his team are exploring how machines and humans can work together to improve cancer detection and interpretation. Using tools such as eye-gaze tracking, the team studies how expert physicians search and interpret medical images and tissue samples. This work supports the development of artificial intelligence for cancer detection and treatment planning, while also creating training tools that help learners recognize the visual patterns most critical to cancer assessment.
The molecular imaging lab is continuing to discover new cancer imaging agents used to treat and detect cancers, with a goal of more accurate detection, potentially extending and saving lives.
General Baines Fund
Dr. David Palma
Dr. David Palma and his team have launched an online training course for radiation oncology residents, the Anatomy and Radiology Contouring Bootcamp. Click here to learn more.
Building on the evidence of the first successful SABR-COMET trial, Dr. Palma and his team have been busy implementing and enrolling patients to new ground-breaking trial over the last six months. The SABR-COMET 10 trial uses intensive doses of radiation in patients with cancer that has spread to ten different parts of the body. Their hope is that this super-charged radiation will kill or shrink tumours enough to help extend and save the lives of these patients. The trial includes sites around the world, including Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Belgium.
The Biospecimen Lab (BSL) provides essential expertise and infrastructure for the collection, processing and management of high-quality biospecimens, enabling high-impact clinical and translational cancer research. The BSL has processed over 2,000 biospecimens in the past year and supported over 100 research studies across 10 disease sites.