Wednesday, August 28, 2024 CCTG would like to congratulate Dr. Cynthia Yeung who was the recipient of the Frances A Shepherd Award for her abstract and presentation of "Impact of concurrent antibiotics on survival with immunotherapy in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer" which was selected as a poster in the Developmental Therapeutics – Immunotherapy session at ASCO 2024, Chicago (presented on June 1, 2024). "It is an honour to be selected for the Frances A Shepherd Award" says Dr. Yeung who is a PGY-5 medical oncology resident at BC Cancer. She will be starting an advanced GI oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center jointly supervised by Dr. Scott Kopetz and Dr. Jonathan Loree after completion of her medical oncology residency. Dr. Yeung, elaborated on her work, "Our analysis utilized the clinical trials registry from two randomized phase II Canadian Cancer Trials Group trials (CO.26 and PA.7) that evaluated durvalumab + tremelimumab in gastrointestinal malignancies. There have been numerous retrospective studies suggesting that exposure to antibiotics may have immunomodulatory effects for patients receiving immunotherapy. This is particularly relevant in gastrointestinal malignancies where the microbiome likely plays a larger role than most cancers. Our work explores antibiotic use and outcomes in two large clinical trials and provides new insights as concurrent antibiotic exposure was associated with an improved outcome, rather than a detrimental effect." Frances A Shepherd AwardIn recognition of the critical role played by the CCTG throughout her professional career, Dr. Frances Shepherd has provided support for an annual travel award to recognize excellence in clinical trials and translational research within CCTG research projects.The award is disbursed to up to three investigators or post-graduate trainees, traveling to present CCTG related work at major international meetings where the material has been accepted for presentation. Applicants who have had their research accepted for oral or poster presentation at an international scientific meeting. The next application deadline is Wednesday, December 4th, 2024. For more information and how to apply >
