By: Michele Charlton and Allison Currie
Every Nova Scotian will be touched by cancer sometime in their lifetime – either they will receive a diagnosis, or a family member or friend will. When that happens, we want them to know we have the tools to help them fight back. Today, on World Cancer Day, we wanted to highlight some of the important work being done through the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub to generate change and improve survival rates by building the oncology ecosystem of the future.
In October 2022, the Honourable Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness, announced the acquisition of a first-in-Canada cancer treatment technology that placed the province among global leaders in cancer care. The Ethos therapy machine with HyperSight imaging system, created by Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, uniquely combines artificial intelligence with adaptive therapy, resulting in shorter treatment times for patients. This machine and Nova Scotia’s world-class research and innovation program were supported by the generous contributions of donors from the QEII Foundation, $12 million in operational funding from the Province of Nova Scotia, and a significant in-kind contribution from Varian.
A few months later, in February 2023, the Oncology Transformation Project was announced. Made possible through the partnership between Nova Scotia Health and Varian, it includes Varian’s fully integrated ARIA Oncology Information System. This single access point manages cancer patient referrals, triage and treatment, and brings together key oncology information systems, with information available in real time.
There is also real-time communication between the two cancer centres in Halifax and Sydney and the province’s community cancer sites, which enhances access to care for people living in rural communities.
Our new Innovator in Residence, Dr. Amanda Caissie, is providing expertise to drive digital oncology research and innovation strategy and execution. Although focused on radiation oncology, she’s also incorporating the entire continuum of cancer care, including data enabled decision-making through big data analytics and artificial intelligence. This is supporting the introduction of technology and services that will modernize the associated clinical processes, education and research and enhance patient engagement and experience.
The QEII Foundation’s BMO Ride event in the fall of 2023 is serving as the catalyst for providing the QEII with Atlantic Canada’s first-ever CAR-T therapy lab. This innovative method takes the T-cells out from the blood, programs them to make them more powerful and more precise. After reprogramming, they go after every cancer cell and destroy them.
In January of 2024, our partnership evolved into an unprecedented 10-year, multi-disciplinary oncology partnership (MDOP) designed to deliver value across the Nova Scotia Health system by accelerating the patient journey from screening to survivorship.
Benefits of this innovative partnership include:
- Expansion of the provincial cancer screening and cancer survivorship programs
- Earlier detection of cancers with improved diagnostics
- Treatments that are less invasive and more personalized
- Improved outcomes for patients
Nova Scotia Health will invest up to $224 million over the next 10 years in the project. That includes $175 million to purchase hardware, software and digital solutions and services, and $49 million for renovations to accommodate new equipment and create new positions to support the project.
Varian has also committed up to $50 million over the same period to open a new office in Halifax that will create at least 60 jobs. The Halifax office will work with Nova Scotia Health to develop a digital imaging concept around artificial intelligence.
Another critical part of cancer care is clinical trials. Clinical trials play an incredibly important role in learning about the disease, developing new treatments and improving healthcare outcomes.
NovaStudies Connect was launched in June of 2023. The platform was created to accelerate the recruitment of participants to new clinical research across the province, giving patients unprecedented access to cutting-edge treatments.
Located at the QEII Health Sciences Centre’s Victoria General site, the Atlantic Clinical Cancer Research Unit (ACCRU) coordinates trials across all cancer specialties – medical, radiation, and surgical. This research lab has made it possible for Nova Scotia to be first in the world to recruit patients onto large clinical trials.
And in January 2024, the province of Nova Scotia launched a new screening program that will help save lives by preventing lung cancer and finding it earlier. Nova Scotians aged 50-74 who have smoked daily for 20 years or more at any point in their lives can contact the program and have a nurse assess their personal risk of lung cancer. The assessment helps to determine if they would benefit from screening with a chest CT scan. People who call the program will receive information about lung health and, if applicable, smoking cessation supports.
While there is still work to be done to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all the Health Innovation Hub remains focused on the development of new treatments, technologies and solutions to achieve excellence in health, ensuring that Nova Scotia leads in world class healthcare.
