2017 Innovation Award: Drs. Glenn Bauman and Aaron Ward

Drs. Bauman and Ward are recognized for collaborating with Lawson Imaging scientists to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The team is the first in Canada to capture highly specific prostate cancer images using a new molecule known as a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) probe.

The PSMA probe is used in Positron Emissions Tomography (PET) scans to correctly diagnose cancer. PET probes are injected into a patient where they then spread throughout the body and identify sites of disease. PET scans are often combined with Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This shows where the probe is concentrated, confirming precisely where the cancer is located. There are common PET probes to image most cancers, but they have been less accurate in identifying prostate cancer.

“What we’ve seen in other cancers is the use of PET scanning to detect cancer anywhere in the body,” says Dr. Glenn Bauman, a Lawson scientist, radiation oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre (Schulich School of Medicine & DentistryLHSC) and Chair of the Department of Oncology at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and Chief of the Department of Oncology at LHSC. “But for various reasons prostate cancer doesn’t seem to be very sensitive to the typical types of tracers we use for PET imaging.”

The PSMA probe solves this problem by specifically targeting PSMA molecules, which are found on prostate cancer cells. The resulting images provide exceptional detail about a patient’s cancer, including the precise location, size and status of a tumour. This revolutionary approach has implications for improved targeting for regions receiving radiation, potentially resulting in less invasive procedures and improved patient outcomes. 

“Being a part of this team has been hands-down the best collaborative research experience that I have ever had,” says Aaron Ward, a Lawson scientist at the Gerald C. Baines Centre for Translational Cancer Research at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital.  

Drs. Bauman and Ward are senior authors of the publication, “[18F]-DCFPyL Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Localization of Dominant Intraprostatic Foci: First Experience,” published in European Urology Focus in 2016.

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