A new strategy to stop metastasis ($2M)

We know that once cancer metastasizes, survival rates plummet. But how and why metastasis occurs is itself poorly understood. Dr. Cools-Lartigue is testing a ground-breaking therapeutic strategy to stop cancer metastasizing, focusing on the role of neutrophils and systemic inflammation.

“Instead of killing cancer cells, what makes our immune system adopt a tolerant stance that permits ongoing tumor growth and spread? If we change our concept of cancer to a disease of the immune system, the failure of our treatment strategies to date becomes less perplexing. No current treatment effort specifically addresses this abnormal immune function.”

Dr. Jonathan Cools-Lartigue
Thoracic Surgeon, Clinician Scientist, MUHC

Dr. Jonathan Cools-Lartigue

Dr. Cools-Lartigue’s research group was the first to describe Neutrophil Extractor Traps (NETs) as facilitators of cancer development in the context of inflammation.