CCRAN and Signal49 Research Launch Phase II Initiative to Make Comprehensive Genomic Profiling a Standard of Care for Metastatic Cancer in Canada
核心洞察
Phase I research demonstrated universal CGP could yield approximately 3,440 life-years gained and $87–$134 million in healthcare savings for nearly 136,000 Canadians diagnosed with the top five deadliest metastatic cancers between 2025 and 2030.
Phase II shifts focus from economic modeling to real-world evidence, drawing on data from Alberta and Ontario to identify access patterns, variations, and bottlenecks in CGP delivery.
CGP remains unevenly funded across Canada, placing the country behind the United States and Western Europe where genomic profiling is already a standard of care.
The Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (搜索) (CCRAN) and Signal49 Research (搜索) announced on July 7, 2026, that Phase II of their comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) research initiative is now underway, marking a pivotal shift from national economic modeling to real-world evidence generation aimed at making CGP a standard of care for metastatic cancer (搜索) patients across Canada.
The new phase builds on the landmark Phase I findings released in 2025, which produced the first pan-Canadian model of the costs and benefits of publicly funding universal CGP using next-generation sequencing (CGP-NGS) for the five cancers with the highest mortality in the metastatic setting: lung, colorectal, pancreatic, breast, and prostate. Together, these cancers account for approximately 60 percent of cancer mortality in Canada.
What Phase I Established
The Phase I research, titled Precision in Practice: Costs and Benefits of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling for Five Stage 4 Cancers, modeled outcomes for the nearly 136,000 Canadians expected to be newly diagnosed with one of the top five deadliest cancers in the metastatic setting between 2025 and 2030. The analysis found that adopting universal access to CGP, compared with the current standard of care, could deliver approximately 3,440 life-years gained across the patient population and over $180 million in societal contribution driven by increased total income tied to improved survival.
Healthcare system cost savings were projected at $87 million to $134 million, translating to roughly $715 to $2,495 per patient. Notably, diagnostic costs remained low, representing just 0.3 to 4.1 percent of total treatment expenses. These findings established what had previously been absent in Canada: rigorous evidence linking the well-documented patient need for CGP to its measurable value for both patients and the health system.
Why Phase II Matters
For patients facing metastatic cancer (搜索), access to comprehensive genomic profiling can mean the difference between receiving the right treatment quickly and losing precious weeks to trial-and-error testing. Yet today, whether a patient receives that testing—and how soon—too often depends on where they live.
"Phase I clearly demonstrated the value of CGP. Phase II will show us how to deliver it in the real world," said Filomena Servidio-Italiano, President and CEO of CCRAN. "Real-world evidence will illuminate how decision-makers can implement comprehensive genomic profiling in practice—identifying where access breaks down and what it takes to close those gaps for metastatic cancer (搜索) patients across the country."
The second phase will draw on real-world genomic profiling experience and data from Alberta and Ontario to examine what enables access to genomic profiling, how and when results are being used to inform precision treatment decisions, and the system-level access patterns, variations, and bottlenecks that shape timely and equitable use. By situating these findings within the current policy and funding landscape, Phase II aims to shift the conversation from good intentions to actionable approaches.
"I didn't have time to waste, and genomic profiling meant I didn't have to," said Eric Hamilton, a metastatic colorectal cancer (搜索) patient and patient advocate from Alberta who was diagnosed at age 41. "Instead of trying one treatment and waiting to see if it worked, my team knew what to target from the start. Every patient facing this should have that chance, no matter where in Canada they live."
Toward a National Standard of Care
CGP remains unevenly funded and implemented across Canada, leaving many patients without access to diagnostics that guide timely, targeted treatment decisions and clinical trial enrolment. This places Canada behind countries such as the United States and those in Western Europe, where CGP is already a standard of care.
Phase II aims to inform the development of a pan-Canadian framework to align diagnostics with therapies, strengthen testing capacity, and harmonize data collection across provinces. The work is part of CCRAN's broader national collaborative advocacy campaign to establish CGP as a standard of care for all metastatic cancer (搜索) patients in Canada.
"This next phase reflects what our partnership with CCRAN does best: connecting patient advocacy with rigorous, evidence-based information upon which leaders can act," said Eddy Nason, Director, Health, Signal49 Research (搜索). "By grounding our analysis in real-world data from two provinces, we can provide decision-makers with practical, system-level evidence to more appropriately, effectively and efficiently utilize CGP."
The Phase II findings are expected to be released early next year and will be shared through CCRAN's and Signal49 Research (搜索)'s networks.
Sponsors and Partners
CCRAN's Phase I and Phase II sponsors include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck (搜索), and Roche Diagnostics (搜索). The initiative is also supported by over 15 patient organizations standing in solidarity as Phase II partners, including Bladder Cancer Canada, Canadian Breast Cancer (搜索) Network, Lung Cancer (搜索) Canada, Myeloma Canada, Pancreatic Cancer (搜索) North America, Prostate Cancer (搜索) Foundation Canada, and the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD), among others.