Grant: New Investigator Salary Award - PA: Drug Safety and Effectiveness - Drug Safety

In Canada, severe ADRs claim 10,000 to 21,800 lives each year and cause many more life-long disabilities. In the treatment of pediatric cancer, 40% of patients suffer severe permanently disabling, life-threatening, or lethal ADRs. ADRs alone account for 22% of all pediatric oncology patient admissions into hospital. An individual's susceptibility to an ADR is often determined by their genetic make-up. Building upon a successful track record of identifying novel genetic susceptibility variants to severe ADRs, including cisplatin-induced deafness and anthracycline-induced heart failure, the objective of this research program will be to (1) discover novel genetic and/or clinical factors predictive of severe ADRs, (2) replicate and (3) validate these discoveries, and (4) to implement these tests for the benefit of patients. A pilot program is now underway to establish a genetic testing program to prevent severe ADRs in partnership with the Clinical Molecular Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory at the B.C. Children's Hospital. This program will focus on the translation between clinical genetic results and translation to physicians.