Jenny Ko
MD, FRCSC
Dr. Jenny Ko is a medical oncologist and Director of the Clinical Trials Unit at BC Cancer – Abbotsford. Dr. Ko’s cutting-edge and innovative work in cancer research earned her a Health Professional-Investigator Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research last year. She is the principal investigator for a medical education research project involving ACP education in residents that has been awarded major grant. She also previously served as Systemic Chair for the BC Gynecologic Oncology group, and is a member of the Priority and Evaluation Committee (PEC) for the BC Cancer Agency. She and her team are working on ways to treat ovarian cancer that has become resistant to first-line chemotherapy.
Projects
No modality exists to accurately measure residual cancer burden during chemotherapy or predict pathologic response in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The objective of this study is to use the novel diffuse optical imaging (DOI) probe to evaluate the pathologic response of breast cancer to NAC before breast resection.
The study aims to enrol a minimum of 65 patients and recruitment is ongoing. An eligible patient has a diagnosis of LABC and is recommended NAC followed by resection. Using the handheld DOI probe, both the healthy breast and breast cancer are scanned prior to NAC, at each clinic visit prior to NAC cycle, and after all NAC is completed. Palpated tumour size are measured at the same time; ultrasound (US) is performed prior to NAC and halfway through NAC. After surgery, the specimens are reviewed by reference pathologist and assigned the Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) coefficient and class. We calculated the DOI coefficient and compare the measurements to the changes on palpation and on US as well as the RCB coefficients.
Researchers
Publications
Recipient of the Michael Smith Foundation Health Research Grant 2018-2020
The Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG) has emerged as an evidence-based framework for conversations with patients about a serious illness diagnosis. The objective of our study was to validate a novel assessment tool, the SIC-Evaluation Exercise (SIC-Ex), designed to facilitate assessment of resident-led conversations with oncology patients.
We developed the SIC-Ex based on the Boston SICG framework and on the Royal College of Canada Medical Oncology milestones for the Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) “Discussing serious news” and “Transitioning away from active anti-cancer therapy”. Seven resident trainees and ten preceptors were recruited from three cancer centres. Each trainee conducted a SIC with a patient, which was videotaped. The preceptors watched the videos and evaluated each trainee using the novel SIC-Ex and the reference Calgary-Cambridge Guide (CCG) at months 0 and 3. We used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze domain-specific and/or total scores. Qualitative analysis was also performed on freeform comments.
To our knowledge, SIC-Ex is the first assessment tool to incorporate the SICG framework within a Medical Oncology EPA for evaluation of resident competence. Our study provides evidence that the SIC-Ex is a valid tool for assessment of residents’ competence in discussing serious illness with oncology patients. SIC-Ex and CCG are conceptually related. Discrepancies between trainee self-ratings and preceptor scores may reflect a need to provide additional learner-centered instructions on SIC.
Our study demonstrates feasibility of incorporating SICG into the training and assessment of residents in discussing serious illness with oncology patients.
Researchers
1) Department of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer – Abbotsford, Abbotsford, BC;
2) Department of Internal Medicine, Chilliwack General Hospital, Chilliwack, BC;
3) Department of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer – Vancouver, Vancouver, BC;
4) Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB;
5) BC Centre for Palliative Care, Vancouver, BC;
6) Department of Radiation Oncology, BC Cancer – Vancouver, Vancouver, BC;
7) Pain and Symptom Management/Palliative Care Program, BC Cancer – Vancouver, Vancouver, BC.
8) Ghement Statistics Inc, Richmond, BC;
9) Ariadne Labs; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA;
10) Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC.
Publications
Ko JJ, Ballard MS, Roze des Ordons A, Shenkier T, Hawley P, Fyles G, Lefresne S, McKenzie M, Chen C, Jones S, Ghement I, Simon J. Development and validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate how well medical residents are prepared to lead Serious Illness Conversations with oncology patients based on the competency-based medical education (CBME) model – a quantitative analysis. Manuscript in review, 2020.
Ko JJ, Ballard MS, Roze des Ordons A, Shenkier T, Fyles G, Lefresne S, McKenzie M, Chen C, Jones S, Ghement I, Simon J, Hawley P. Validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate how well medical residents are prepared to lead Serious Illness Conversations with oncology patients based on the competency-based medical education (CBME) model – a quantitative analysis. Poster presentation at the 2018 2018 International Congress on Palliative Care, October 3-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada.
Ko JJ, Ballard MS, Roze des Ordons A, Shenkier T, Fyles G, Lefresne S, McKenzie M, Chen C, Jones S, Ghement I, Simon J, Hawley P. Validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate how well medical residents are prepared to lead Serious Illness Conversations with oncology patients based on the competency-based medical education (CBME) model – a qualitative analysis. Poster presentation at the 2018 2018 International Congress on Palliative Care, October 3-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada.
Ko JJ, Ballard MS, Roze des Ordons A, Shenkier T, Hawley P, Fyles G, Lefresne S, McKenzie M, Chen C, Jones S, Ghement I, Simon J. Validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate how well medical residents are prepared to lead Serious Illness Conversations with oncology patients based on the competency-based medical education (CBME) model – a qualitative analysis. Poster presentation at the 2018 International Association for Medical Education (AMEE) Annual Meeting, Aug 26, 2018, Basel, Switzerland.
Recipient of 2016 Medical Council of Canada Research in Clinical Assessment Grant
Our team will conduct a study, called the Bev trial, in which we will compare lower vs. higher standard doses of an anti-cancer drug called bevacizumab given in combination with chemotherapy, in patients with ovarian cancer that has come back and progressed on platinum chemotherapy (recurrent platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer). Bevacizumab is not a traditional chemotherapy, but a targeted antibody-based drug designed to block supply of blood to cancer cells.
Among patients participating in the Bev trial, we will use tumour samples from the ovaries/fallopian tubes that were removed before any chemotherapy was given. The samples will be processed for ribonucleic acid (RNA) analysis, which is a type of genetic material cancer uses to produce protein. Each specimen will be analyzed and assigned one of the PrOTYPE subtypes. Patient data will be examined for what treatment she has received and how well the cancer has responded to the treatment. We will test whether different subtypes, identified at diagnosis, predict who may benefit from bevacizumab treatment when cancer recurs.
Researchers
Publications
Recipient of the GCI Accelerating Grants for Clinical Studies Competition (2019 and 2020)