World-leading research and programs
The Princess Margaret is proud to be a world leader in the areas of cancer stem cell research, image-guided therapeutics, and patient survivorship program development.We offer the full spectrum of research, from discovery to translational, to clinical. Each one contributes to our unique advancements and deeper scientific understanding of cancer, allowing for the delivery of more effective therapies and practices to our patients and patients worldwide.
Each year, there are over 1,000 new peer-reviewed publications from our faculty contributing to the global effort to understand the disease and offer better treatments for patients. The Princess Margaret is ranked in the top 5 of the world’s best cancer centres for percentage of published papers in high-impact journals.
Top 5 in scale
The Princess Margaret is the only multidisciplined treatment centre in Canada devoted solely to cancer care. More than 3,700 employees support the treatment of over 18,000 new patients a year and 1,400 patients daily.We are home to:
- One of the largest dedicated hospital-based cancer clinical research units in the world
- More than 1,600 researchers and research staff
- One of the world's largest single-site radiation medicine programs with 75,600 radiation visits a year
- The largest stem-cell transplant unit in Canada
- Many award-winning programs, including patient education, survivorship, and research
Top 5 in breadth
We continue to deliver on evidence-based research by exhausting the potential of every discovery, no matter how small, and then extending that knowledge far beyond the borders of our own country.The Princess Margaret:
- Treats over 200 types of cancer, many of which are complex and challenging, while providing consultations to many leading cancer clinicians around the globe
- Has the most comprehensive Immunotherapy Program in Canada, including Canada’s first clinical trial using a promising kind of Immune Therapy called “Adoptive T-cell Therapy”
- Makes world-first discoveries, including a revolutionary blood test for early detection of cancer, radiation planning using artificial intelligence, and psychological interventions for cancer patients
- Collaborates globally with researchers, clinicians, and educators in 107 countries, representing over 500 institutions
- Integrates the full spectrum of research and clinical work from predictive, prevention, diagnostic, therapeutics to supportive care
- Has 14 disease site groups with more than 600,000 in-person and virtual clinic visits per year
- Hosts a strong clinical research program, with 23% of our patients participating in clinical trials, almost double the national averages of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom
What does it mean to be a “Major Cancer Centre”?
- Providing state-of-the-art care and services to patients and families
- Actively investing in all facets of research, including discovery, translational, and clinical
- Ongoing collaboration with national and international partners to advance positive patient outcomes
- Leading health organizations and major professional associations provincially, nationally, and globally
- Attracting, retaining, and educating many top cancer healthcare professionals
- Developing more effective approaches to cancer diagnosis and therapy
- Communicating and translating cancer knowledge to the Canadian public