At Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, advancing discovery, innovation, and excellence in patient care is what we do every day. Over the past year, we have continued to translate scientific breakthroughs into meaningful impact, with a clear and unwavering focus on improving outcomes for patients and families.
This progress has been recognized globally. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre was named one of the top 10 cancer hospitals in the world by Newsweek and ranked #1 in Canada, underscoring our leadership across clinical care, research, and education.
This annual report highlights a number of significant milestones. Among them is the launch of the OurGenes Study, a bold plan to sequence the genomes of 100,000 patients to identify those at higher risk for cancer. We are also advancing innovations such as CellNEST, an artificial intelligence platform designed to map complex cell-cell communication in cancer, and porphysomes, a Canadian innovation in precision-guided cancer therapy that has now moved into clinical trials following Health Canada approval. Researchers also made important discoveries in ovarian cancer, leukemia, glioblastoma, and meningioma research to name a few, creating new opportunities for more personalized and effective treatments.
This year marked a transformative investment in research and clinical care. A landmark $50 million gift from the Peter Gilgan Foundation established the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. This investment will help advance the mission to detect cancer earlier, improve outcomes, and increase the number of patients who can be cured. A second major gift from the Silber Family will support the establishment of the Silber Family Theranostics Centre, a state-of-the-art centre delivering a new direction for cancer therapy.
At the same time, we have strengthened our focus on whole-person care. Programs such as the Older Adults with Cancer Clinic, the Caregiver Clinic, and our internationally recognized Palliative Care Program reflect the importance of supporting patients, families, and caregivers across the full continuum of care. This includes the release of a new Lancet Oncology Commission review highlighting the urgent need to address the human impact of cancer through more compassionate, person-centered care.
Collaboration and education remain central to our mission. Through our Global Cancer Program, Cancer Education initiatives, and the Princess Margaret Cancer Care Network, we support knowledge sharing, train future cancer leaders, and improve access to high-quality cancer care in Canada and internationally.
Looking ahead, we are preparing for the future of cancer care through the new Cancer Futures building at 522 University Avenue. The building will expand capacity to meet growing demand while enabling new models of care, research, and innovation that will improve patient outcomes for decades to come.
These achievements are made possible by the extraordinary dedication of our clinicians, scientists, researchers, nurses, staff, learners, volunteers, and partners. We are deeply grateful to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and our donors, whose generosity continues to accelerate progress in cancer care and research. Together, we are not only shaping the future of cancer care. We are defining it.
Keith Stewart,
MB ChB, MBA
Director, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Vice President, Cancer and Laboratory Medicine Program,
University Health Network
