Published September 22, 2026
The greatest opportunity to change cancer outcomes may lie in detecting the disease before it has the chance to take hold. The Peter Gilgan Foundation's $50 million gift to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the largest single gift in North America to support early cancer detection, is helping make that future possible.
Today, the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is the world's largest program for detecting and intercepting the recurrence of cancer in patients, bringing new hope to patients and their loved ones.
"Cancer is a cause that has touched my family and loved ones, and it affects far too many Canadians," said Peter. "Now is the time to invest in Canada's capacity for world-class research and innovation. I felt compelled to make this significant gift to establish a centre of this kind, one that will strengthen our country's research and catalyze better outcomes that will create a lasting impact on patients here in Canada and around the world."
Finding and preventing cancer at Stage 0 is one of the key priorities for Carry The Fire, Canada's largest-ever cancer fundraising campaign, making the Peter Gilgan Foundation's early gift a pioneering force in early cancer detection research.
The Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research is helping bring this aspiration to life by focusing on three major pillars: understanding how cancer begins, developing cutting-edge technologies, and translating discoveries into clinical practice. Together, these efforts will accelerate innovation in cancer care and have the potential to dramatically improve survival outcomes.
One powerful example of the cutting-edge work enabled by the Centre is SHERLOCK, a landmark study in early cancer detection research launched by The Princess Margaret shortly after receiving the Peter Gilgan Foundation's historic gift. As a flagship initiative of the Centre, SHERLOCK uses a blood test to detect small traces of cancer that may remain in a patient's body after treatment. Soon, it could make a significant difference in how doctors detect cancer – greatly reducing the anxiety and stress felt by those at risk of their cancer returning.
"For patients who have already undergone curative cancer treatment, a question often lingers: Is the cancer truly gone?" said Dr. Lillian Siu, co-scientific lead at the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research and senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
"Our hope is that studies like SHERLOCK will bring us much closer to answering that question with confidence and, ultimately, prevent cancers at high risk of relapse from returning."
We are deeply grateful to Peter and the Peter Gilgan Foundation for their visionary commitment to accelerating cancer early detection and enhancing health outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients everywhere.