Staying One Step Ahead of Cancer

“We are always trying to be a step ahead of cancer.” – Dr. Lillian Siu

Dr. Lillian Siu’s journey into oncology began in her teenage years when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Accompanying her mother to chemotherapy sessions at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre for over a decade, Dr. Siu found her calling and she pursued a Doctor of Medicine degree and a medical oncology residency.

Today, Dr. Siu is a medical oncologist and Director of the Phase 1 clinical trials program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She is a global leader in drug development, and through her long career, she has witnessed life-changing advancements that have revolutionized patient care. “The Princess Margaret is the place to come to when you’re looking for new drug treatments because we have access to a large portfolio of clinical trials,” she explained.

Another large area of Dr. Siu’s research is in liquid biopsies, a blood test that detects microscopic traces of cancer. She uses this procedure to look at DNA in the bloodstream that comes from cancerous cells, called circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Researchers are looking at ctDNA to see if they can identify patients who have molecular traces of residual cancer in them. This ability to track microscopically can help researchers plan interception clinical trials to eradicate the cancer before it has a chance to recur.

However, this ground-breaking research depends heavily on donor support. “Conducting work with high impact potential such as intercepting cancer with ctDNA, can only be possible with research support. Technologies such as ctDNA are very novel and not yet publicly funded in Canada,” said Dr. Siu. “We need to be able to have access to resources to do the kind of transformative discovery work that we want to do,” she said. “We’re always trying to be a step ahead of cancer and it is an important and worthwhile investment.”