Clinical Trials

Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCI) will collect biological samples (such as blood), derived genomic sequences (from DNA and RNA), and clinical features in a Biorepository as a standardized resource for future research studies. The purpose of the Genomic Institute Biorepository is to provide consented samples and data for basic and clinical research related to the genomic cause and treatment of childhood disease, and, in the future, as reference (Quality Control) data to improve the ability to make clinical diagnoses or clinical decisions. In addition, the Biorepository will provide a mechanism for making a diagnosis of a genetic disease. That is, once genomic sequences have been derived from biological samples, they will be immediately analyzed. If a genetic disease is identified that appears to explain an affected child's clinical features, then those results will be confirmed by the medically accepted standard, and placed in the electronic health record.

2,000 infants with signs suggestive of a genetic disorder being treated at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in which African-American and rural populations are highly represented will be enrolled. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be used to identify pathogenic variation in DNA from these infants. Stakeholders, including parents, clinicians, and community leaders, will be engaged to develop culturally adapted educational materials and to equip non-genetics providers to return WGS results. Parents will be provided with these materials through a web portal, the Genome Gateway, and will be placed into one of two arms of a randomized trial to compare the effectiveness technology-assisted WGS result delivery by non-genetics providers relative to result delivery from genetic counselors.

The goal of this project is to characterize the genetic profile of patients with advanced stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using liquid biopsies

The purpose of this study is to establish retrospectively a nationwide registry of patients who have suffered drug-induced liver injury (DILI), and to collect, immortalize, and store serum, DNA, and lymphocytes from these patients. ILIAD will serve as a resource for subsequent mechanistic investigations into the basis of severe idiosyncratic DILI. The primary goal of the ILIAD protocol is to create: (a) a clinical database consisting of individuals who have experienced severe DILI and the relevant clinical data concerning the episode of DILI; and, (b) to create a bank of biological specimens obtained from these individuals. These biological specimens will be DNA, plasma, and immortalized lymphocytes. Immortalized lymphocytes will provide unlimited amounts of genomic DNA for study as well as living immune cells for phenotyping studies. A secondary goal of the ILIAD protocol is to maintain a registry of cases in the ILIAD database so that they may be recontacted in the future. It is expected that this will facilitate additional studies exploring the mechanisms of DILI.

Inflammatory joint diseases are major causes of invalidity and morbidity. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most frequent of chronic arthritides, affects close to 1% of the Canadian population. Direct and indirect costs of RA represent close to 1% of the gross national product. Recent evidence suggest that initiation of early (e.g., during the first 3-12 months of disease) aggressive treatment decreases both mortality and long term invalidity in RA and other chronic arthritides. However, a significant proportion of patients with early polyarthritis (EPA) have a benign evolution, even if they fulfill criteria for RA. On the contrary, most patients whose arthritis persist for more than 12 months have a progressive and destructive disease. Currently available clinical, serological and genetic markers of severity in arthritic patients perform poorly in EPA patients to identify those patients whose arthritis is likely to persist and thus who deserve an aggressive treatment. The Investigators propose a prospective and longitudinal study to define the contribution of detection of rheumatoid arthritis-specific autoantibodies (RASA), either alone or in combination with other markers of severity, in the prognostic evaluation of patients presenting with EPA. Availability of such an effective serological tool to establish prognosis in individual patients would improve therapeutic decisions in clinical practice. The same prognostic tools would represent very powerful instruments to subset patients into more homogeneous groups in clinical trials, increasing their power.

Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of cancer through the use of targeted therapies, but what works for one patient might not work for another patient. Certain drugs are now being developed that target specific molecules in the body that are believed to be part of the disease. Biomarkers are specific characteristics of the cancer that may help provide prognostic information (e.g. how well patients will be regardless of the treatments given) or help predict sensitivity or resistance to a specific treatment. The study will collect archival tumor samples (previously collected biopsy or surgical tumor samples) to provide biomarker data about a patient's cancer, which may help their physicians to identify which clinical trials of new drug treatments may be most appropriate for the patient in the future and may also guide the use of approved treatments that may potentially benefit the patient. Another goal of this study is to develop a province-wide registry of targeted gene sequencing testing results that will be made available to cancer researchers. Additional tumour tissue and blood samples collected from all study participants will also be stored in a biobank at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research for future research. The study will also look at linking data from this study to other health care databases to further collect information about the health care the patients received, including medical tests, clinic visits, or procedures both before and after participating in this study. Having more information about patient health to relate to the DNA sequences may provide new insights into cancer and its treatment.

RATIONALE: Using samples of blood, urine, sputum, and lung tissue from patients at high risk of cancer for laboratory studies may help doctors learn more about changes that may occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. PURPOSE: This research study is looking at molecular predictors of cancer in patients at high risk of lung cancer.

This is a prospective, non-randomized clinical trial that aims to describe the efficacy and toxicity of commercially available, targeted anticancer drugs* prescribed for treatment of patients with advanced cancer with a potentially actionable variant as revealed by a genomic or protein expression test. The study also aims to simplify patient access to approved targeted therapies that are contributed to the program by collaborating pharmaceutical companies and to perform next generation sequencing on tumor biopsies for biomarker analyses. Eligible patients have an advanced solid tumor, multiple myeloma or B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma for which standard treatment options are no longer available and acceptable performance status and organ function. A genomic or protein expression test must have been performed on the tumor and the results must identify at least one potentially actionable molecular variant as defined in the protocol. Results from the molecular profiling test will be used to determine an appropriate drug(s) from among those available in the protocol. The choice of drug will be supported by a list of potential profiles, a molecular tumor board, a knowledge library and by study coordinators for review and approval of the match. The protocol-specified treatment will be administered to the patient once any drug-specific eligibility criteria are confirmed and a fresh pre-treatment biopsy is performed for future genetic studies. All patients who receive treatment with a drug available in the protocol will be followed for standard efficacy outcomes including tumor response, progression-free and overall survival as well as duration of treatment. In addition, treatment related toxicity will be evaluated.

With the completion of the human genome project, investigators can now explore new questions in human biology. Previously human genetics focused on highly penetrant, Mendelian traits; however, now rare and common variants can be discovered that affect "common" diseases that have multi-gene architecture with variable penetrance such as breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease. This change took place because investigators now have the tools to illuminate the whole genome at once to discover the genetic variants responsible for different disease phenotypes through statistical differences between populations. Besides disease phenotypes, health can be considered a human phenotype that can be studied. Health is not merely the absence of disease but may be viewed as a dynamic ongoing interplay between the environment and the genome to maintain homeostasis. Individuals often attempt to optimize environmental conditions according to ones genome to maximize their health. All individuals possess potentially beneficial and harmful variants depending on the environment. How this dynamic interplay occurs between the genome and environment requires understanding the boundary conditions of the genetic architecture of health and disease and then modeling the system to simulate the observed data. The aging process also affects health. Aging involves a loss of the normal coping responses to internal and external environmental stressors or signals. Investigators now have the tools to uncover from the bottom up the mechanisms involved in maintaining the ability to overcome environmental conditions that can affect health. Against this genomic breakthrough of whole genome association studies, the demographics in the United States are quickly changing. The older population (age > 65 years) in 2030 is projected to be twice as large as in 2000 representing nearly 20 percent of the total US population. The first baby boomers turn 65 in 2011 and will challenge all facets of health care in the coming decades. The demographic changes underscore the need to understand the mechanisms that promote health and disease in this cohort. Genomic discoveries will help individuals and may reduce medical costs and benefit society. In summary, the objective of this study is to obtain blood and/or saliva samples in order to help model health and disease phenotypes through population genomics. The blood and/or saliva samples may allow for participants' entire genomes to be sequenced if such comprehensive analysis becomes feasible and economical.

Several studies have reported that diabetic subjects have lower plasma vitamin C concentrations than non-diabetic subjects. Although urinary vitamin C loss in diabetic subjects was reported to be increased in two studies, these are difficult to interpret due to lack of controlled vitamin C intake, inadequate sampling, lack of control subjects, or methodology uncertainties in vitamin C assay and sample processing. Consequently, it is unclear whether diabetic subjects truly have both low plasma and high urine vitamin C concentrations. We propose that low plasma vitamin C concentrations in diabetic subjects are due in part to inappropriate renal loss of vitamin C in these subjects but not in healthy controls. We will study nondiabetic controls and cohorts with diabetes. Vitamin C concentrations in plasma, RBCs, and urine will be measured in outpatients. In those willing to be admitted to the Clinical Center, we will measure vitamin C pharmacokinetics to determine the relative bioavailability for vitamin C in individuals with and without abnormal urinary loss of vitamin C (or renal leak). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) will be determined in genomic DNA responsible for the two proteins mediating sodium dependent vitamin C transport, SVCT1 and SVCT2. We will also explore mechanisms underlying abnormal urinary vitamin C loss.

The Investigators will conduct a longitudinal, mixed-methods cohort study to assess primary and secondary psychosocial outcomes among MyCode adolescent participants and their parents, and health behaviors of children who received an adult- or pediatric-onset genomic result. Data will be gathered via quantitative surveys using validated measures of distress, family functioning, quality of life, body image, perceived cancer/heart disease risk, genetic counseling satisfaction, genomics knowledge, and adjustment to genetic information; qualitative interviews with adolescents and parents; and electronic health records review of children's initiation of risk reduction behaviors. The investigators will also conduct empirical and theoretical legal research to examine the loss of chance doctrine and its applicability to genomic research.

As a consequence of the impending increase in life expectancy, there is urgent need to adopt life-saving interventions, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, (SCT) in groups of patients that have been regarded as unsuitable for such medical procedures owing to their advanced age. However, a growing body of evidence shows that age per se does not account for a reliable estimation of the capability of an individual to cope with the stressful procedure of SCT and to deal with the cognate adverse effects. Recent literature shows that changes in epigenetic markers (i.e. the extent of methylation) at specific loci of genomic DNA marks the rate of aging and allows for the estimation of the so called "biologic aging." In other words, individuals of the same chronologic age may turn out to be older or younger respect when their biologic age is assessed. This latter is expected to be tightly linked to changes in major homeostatic mechanisms and consequently to be in relationship the chance of successful SCT. The primary objective of the study is the study of DNA in patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. DNA will be assessed for the extent of methylation, which will be also in relationship with circulating exogenous DNA (i.e the microbiome).

The purpose of this research study is to determine the genetic changes and immunologic changes that are involved in the development and progression of bronchogenic lung cancer.

This research study is designed to better understand the role of genetics, sun-exposure and phenotypic factors in melanoma.

This project will primarily evaluate the developmental/genetic basis of biliary atresia, the most common cause of liver failure at birth, and which accounts of half of all liver transplants performed worldwide in children.

Phase 1, non-randomized, open label dose escalation clinical trial evaluating the safety of GEN2 in participants with primary & metastatic liver tumors.

Colon cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women. It is a disease that can be prevented if it is found early. Colonoscopy is still the best screening tool for colon cancer and the polyps that turn into colon cancer. However, due to a variety of factors, including affordability, time, and age, not all patients are able to be screened. Researchers are working on other options for early detection that are as accurate as colonoscopy. The purpose of this study if to determine if stool or blood can be used to detect colon cancers as early or earlier than colonoscopy. The researchers plan to use these samples to learn about specific proteins (also known as biomarkers) that may indicate colon polyps, colon cancer or an increased risk of developing colon cancer. In order to learn more about preventing and detecting colon and rectal cancer, we are collecting samples from subjects with cancer, adenomas, and colonoscopies who may be at risk for polyps.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that excess, rare, functionally disruptive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) characterize genes (e.g., the surfactant protein-B gene)(SFTPB) and gene networks (e.g., the pulmonary surfactant metabolic network or other gene networks that regulate alveolar type 2 cell function) associated with increased risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

This is a research study in which bio-specimens (whole blood, plasma and serum from peripheral circulation and portal vein) will be collected from patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma for translational research. These samples will be used for (but not limited to) identification and characterisation of blood-borne biomarkers at the genomic and protein expression level. Examples of such biomarkers are circulating tumour cells (CTCs), CTC clusters and circulating DNA (which can be tumour derived, or from unaffected/normal cells). CTC-enriched blood samples may also be used to generate CTC-derived tumour explant (CDX) models in immunocompromised mice in order to produce suitable disease models in which to test novel therapies and identify new molecular targets. In addition, permission will be sought from study participants for the research team to access clinical information from medical notes to aid in determining the clinical relevance of biomarkers identified during the course of this study. Validated biomarkers are anticipated to be used in designing future biomarker-directed clinical trials in these disease groups.

Prospective, observational cohort study of patients undergoing surgical resection for low dose CT (LDCT) screen-detected lung cancer (detected through the SUMMIT study- ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03934866/ lung screening programmes), in which translational research is a fundamental aspect.