Dr. Gina Ogilvie awarded $2M to study HPV recurrence, with implications for cervical cancer prevention
HPV SLEEPER SCOPE, led by GCI Member Dr. Gina Ogilvie alongside Dr. Inna Sekirov and Dr. Citlali Marquez, is awarded $2M from Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Bringing Biology to Cancer Prevention Team Grants to conduct research on the factors associated with the recurrence of HPV, which is the necessary cause of cervical cancer, and/or the recurrence of cervical dysplasia post-LEEP treatment.
The investigative focus of the research will be on the role of host and microbiome dynamics in the behaviour of oncogenic HPV and specifically on a range of biological factors, including host immune responses, vaginal microbiome composition, host and viral metabolome and genomics. Also examined, will be the impact of various demographic variables and how these variables might interact with biological factors and disease outcomes. A knowledge gap currently exists regarding the complex interactions between these factors and changes in the female genital tract following LEEP, and importantly, how these changes impact post-LEEP clinical outcomes.
The team’s hypothesis is that the combination of host, cervicovaginal microciome interkingdom dynamics, and HPV-related factors, will have a stronger association with post-LEEP treatment HPV and cervical dysplasia recurrence than any factor individually.
The cohort will include individuals undergoing colposcopy and LEEP treatment and a matched cohort not undergoing treatment. Participants will collect study vaginal and urine samples various timepoints during follow-up visits after LEEP or colposcopy. This study will increase our understanding of host-HPV interactions, and will have wide implications for preventing, reducing risk of, and managing HPV-related cancers.
The team working on HPV SLEEPER SCOPE is composed of clinical and biomedical researchers from the fields of epidemiology, public heath, microbiology, and gynecologic oncology. The diverse team brings together a wealth of expertise in complementary fields, allowing for effective investigation into HPV carcinogenesis.
The “Bringing Biology to Cancer Prevention” Team Grant initiative is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and its partners, the Terry Fox Research Institute, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Japan Medical Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Cancer Research Society, and BioCanRX.
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