Program for Women's Cancer Research - Research Initiatives - Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

Program for Women’s Cancer Research (PWR)

The Program for Women’s Cancer Research (PWR) conducts research in radiation oncology, focused on gynecological (ovarian, uterine, cervical, and vulvar) and breast cancers. Established in 2021 by radiation oncologists Dr. Joanne Alfieri and Dr. Tarek Hijal, PWR aims to bring innovative treatments and technologies into clinical practice, to improve cure rates and reduce side effects for patients with these cancers.

Mission
Gynecological Cancer
Breast Cancer
Contact

Mission

The Program for Women's Cancer Research (PWR) is dedicated to improving outcomes for women with breast and gynecological cancers — diseases that claim more than 9,000 Canadian lives each year.
Based at the McGill University Health Centre, the PWR team treats over 750 new patients annually while driving innovation in clinical care, research and education. PWR supports the health and well-being of patients and their families throughout and beyond treatment, with a focus on enhancing quality of life and reducing treatment-related side effects.

Gynecological cancer

Dr. Alfieri introduced the MRI-guided brachytherapy program to the MUHC, allowing high doses of radiation to be delivered with exceptional precision from inside the diseased organ, sparing surrounding healthy tissues with the aim of decreasing recurrences and minimizing long-term side effects in gynecological cancer patients.

The gynecological cancer team conducts research on state-of-the-art treatments for gynecological malignancies, such as the combination of radiation therapy with immunotherapy, and using advanced technologies to reduce overall treatment time for these patients.

Gynecological cancer research team

Joanne Alfieri, MD, FRCPC

Co-Director/Co-Founder

James Tsui, MD

Member

Recent Publications

Adjuvant Treatment of Stage I-II Serous Endometrial Cancer: A Single Institution 20-Year experience. Akingbade A, Fabi F, Cartes R, Tsui J, Alfieri J. Curr Oncol. 2024 Jun 29;31(7):3758-3770. doi: 10.3390/curroncol31070277

Prognostic impact and causality of age on oncological outcomes in women with endometrial cancer: a multimethod analysis of the randomised PORTEC-1, PORTEC-2, and PORTEC-3 trials. Wakkerman FC, Wu J, Putter H, Jürgenliemk-Schulz IM, Jobsen JJ, Lutgens LCHW, Haverkort MAD, de Jong MA, Mens JWM, Wortman BG, Nout RA, Léon-Castillo A, Powell ME, Mileshkin LR, Katsaros D, Alfieri J, Leary A, Singh N, de Boer SM, Nijman HW, Smit V, Bosse T, Koelzer VH, Creutzberg CL, Horeweg N. Lancet Oncol. 2024 Jun;25(6):779-789. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00142-6. Epub 2024 Apr 30.

The Impact of Parent and Family Caregiver Roles Among Canadian Radiation Oncologists. Barry A, Elliott M, Loewen S, Alfieri J, Bowes D, Croke J, Debenham B, Keyes M, Papadakos J, Quartey NK, Stuckless T, Lajkosv K, Weiss J, Giuliani M. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Jun 1;116(2):280-289. Epub 2022 Dec 21. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.12.020

Safety and Efficacy of 2D Brachytherapy vs. 3D Image-Guided Adaptive Brachytherapy for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer-A Single Institution Retrospective Study. Faye MD, Petruccelli Araujo M, Wissing MD, Alrabiah K, Gilbert L, Zeng X, Souhami L, Alfieri J. Curr Oncol. 2023 May 13;30(5):4966-4978. PMCID: PMC10217529 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol30050375

Advances in Radiation Oncology for the Treatment of Cervical Cancer. Daro Faye M, Alfieri J. Curr. Oncol. 2022, 29(2), 928-944; DOI: 10.3390/curroncol29020079

Convolutional neural networks for PET functional volume fully automatic segmentation: development and validation in a multi-center setting. Iantsen A, Ferreira M, Lucia F, Jaouen V, Reinhold C, Bonaffini P, Alfieri J, Rovira R, Masson I, Robin P, Mervoyer A, Rousseau C, Kridelka F, Decuypere M, Lovinfosse P, Pradier O, Hustinx R, Schick U, Visvikis D, Hatt M. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 48, 3444–3456 (2021). DOI: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00259-021-05244-z

Satisfaction among Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Experience. Di Lalla V, Patrick H, Siriani-Ayoub N, Kildea J, Hijal T, Alfieri J. Curr Oncol. 2021 Apr 10;28(2):1507-1517. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol28020142 .

A guide to curriculum inquiry for brachytherapy simulation-based medical education. Fernandez C, Croke J, Alfieri J, Golden DW. Brachytherapy. 2020 Oct 21:S1538-4721(20)30173-2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2020.08.001

Performance comparison of modified ComBat for harmonization of radiomic features for multicenter studies. Da-ano R, Masson I, Lucia F, Doré M, Robin P, Alfieri J, Rousseau C, Mervoyer A, Reinhold C, Castelli J, De Crevoisier R, Rameé JF, Pradier O, Schick U, Visvikis D, Hatt M. Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 24; 10, 10248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66110-w

Breast cancer

Dr. Hijal and the breast cancer team introduced intraoperative radiotherapy to Quebec, using the Intrabeam treatment system that allows patients to be treated with radiation therapy during surgery, saving them several weeks of post-operative treatment. The breast cancer team researches novel radiation treatments for breast cancers, including one-day radiation treatments, to shorten the overall treatment duration for patients.

Breast cancer research team

Tarek Hijal, MD, FRCPC

Co-Director/Co-Founder

Christine Lambert, MD

Member

Marc David, MD

Member

Valerie Panet-Raymond, MD

Member

Carol Oliveira, MD

Member

Recent Publications

Omitting Radiotherapy after Breast-Conserving Surgery in Luminal A Breast Cancer. Whelan TJ, Smith S, Parpia S, Fyles AW, Bane A, Liu FF, Rakovitch E, Chang L, Stevens C, Bowen J, Provencher S, Théberge V, Mulligan AM, Kos Z, Akra MA, Voduc DK, Hijal T, Dayes IS, Pond G, Wright JR, Nielsen TO, Levine MN. N Engl J Med. 2023 Aug 17;389(7):612-619. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2302344.

Partial Breast Irradiation. Meattini I, de Oliveira Franco R, Salvestrini V, Hijal T. Breast. 2023 Jun:69:401-409. doi: 1 10.1016/j.breast.2023.04.007. Epub 2023 Apr 24.

The impact on clinical outcomes of post-operative radiation therapy delay after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer: A multicentric international study. Marta G, AlBeesh R, Pereira A, Oliveira L, Mano M, and Hijal T. Breast. 2020 Aug 29;54:46-51. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2020.08.013. Epub 2020 Aug 29.

Single preoperative radiation therapy with delayed surgery for low-risk breast cancer: Oncologic outcome, toxicity and cosmesis of the SPORT-DS phase I trial. Lavigne D, Hijal T, Vavassis P, Guilbert MC, Sideris L, Dubé P, Gervais MK, Leblanc G, Dufresne MP, Nguyen D, Tiberi D, Mahmoud D, Yassa M. Radiother Oncol. 2024 Aug 30:200:110515. 10.1016/j.radonc.2024.110515

Single pre-operative radiation therapy (SPORT-CK) trial for low-risk breast cancer: Early results of a phase 2 study. Mahmoud D, Yassa M, Alvarado L, Lambert C, Meterissian S, Anderson D, Tremblay F, Otaky N, Keyserlingk J, Panet-Raymond V, Kopek N, David M, Duclos M, Pembroke C, Fleiszer D, Meguerditchian AN, Loutfi A, Lavigne D, Hijal T. Radiother Oncol 2024 Aug 30:200:110510. 10.1016/j.radonc.2024.110510

Barrier films or dressings for the prevention of acute radiation dermatitis in breast cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Wong HCY, Lee SF, Caini S, Wai Chan A, Kwan JYY, Waddle M, Sonis S, Herst P, Alcorn S, Bonomo P, Wong C, Corbin K, Choi JI, Rembielak A, AlKhaifi M, Nader Marta G, Rades D, van den Hurk C, Wolf JR, Chan RJ, Schmeel LC, Lock M, Hijal T, Cao J, Kim H, Chow E. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Aug 7. DOI: 10.1007/s10549-024-07435-2

The use of moderately hypofractionated post-operative radiation therapy for breast cancer in clinical practice: A critical review. Marta GN, Coles C, Kaidar-Person O, Meattini I, Hijal T, Zissiadis Y, Pignol JP, Ramiah D, Ho AY, Cheng SH, Sancho G, Offersen BV, Poortmans P. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2020 Dec;156:103090. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2020.103090. Epub 2020 Aug 26. PMID: 33091800; PMCID: PMC7448956.

Contact PWR

For more information about the Program for Women’s Cancer Research, contact one of the program co-directors, visit the website www.teamPWR.ca and follow PWR on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.