“Our cancer research scientists continue to set the bar higher with every new undertaking and success,” said Michael Power, Vice President, Regional Cancer and Diagnostics. “The efforts of this collaborative team have effected pivotal change in our region. Their research primarily contributes to the foundation for a future economic engine that will drive Northwestern Ontario into a new era of opportunity and development.”

The role of light and lasers in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer continues to evolve as both basic physical understanding and technological development present new opportunities. Some techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, are well established outside the context of cancer research and treatment. Other techniques, such as multiple photon excitation, are in relative infancy of development, and hold promise of current unachievable capabilities. In collaboration with the Physics Department of Lakehead University, the MPRL has embarked upon several investigations, its primary focus to treat live cells with light over an extended course of time. “The research in this field to date has had sporadic results, as the techniques have generated some phototoxicity, photobleaching, and invasive manipulations of the cells, thereby compromising the integrity of the cell,” said Dr. Peter McGhee, Director, Medical Physics. “We have been working with our OIR Microscopy, a minimally invasive approach which allows us to view the cells over long periods of time. This has the potential to show us the effects that cytotoxic chemicals (chemotherapy) or ionizing radiation have on the cells, and the efficacy of our treatments for individual patients.”

Live cell imaging techniques typically involve taking several short exposures per minute over several hours. It is crucial to prevent cell damage caused by the illumination source while monitoring cellular activity. In the ongoing experimentation in the MPRL, scientists have realized success in the OIR approach, which has no previously published record of use in this type of cellular activity monitoring. “We have conquered an enormous obstacle in this research thus far,” stated Dr. Werden Keeler, Professor Emeritus, Experimental Biological and Optical Physics, Lakehead University. “The challenge with our course of research to date has been the current approach with fluorescence illumination, which only provides a few hours of cell viability before the cell cultures become damaged. Our approach has yielded live cell viability for up to 20 hours at one time, allowing us to study cell morphology in both treated cells and healthy untreated cells for an extended period of time. This gives us another sizable puzzle piece in the pursuit to understand cancer cell dynamics.”

To date, the NCRF has provided more than $434,000 towards research conducted in this arena. Research such as this generates excitement in the medical and academic fields as well as the community. “Northwestern Ontario should be incredibly proud of this research as this region is entirely responsible for its funding,” said Glenn Craig, President and CEO, NCRF. “It’s very exciting to see the tangible results of projects funded by this community’s generosity. This kind of research furthers our understanding of cancer, and the NCRF is honoured to assist in enabling that process. We are dedicated to providing funds that stay here in Northwestern Ontario, with the specific goal of improving patient care, furthering research, and stimulating education and awareness for the residents of our region and community.”