Title:   
Professor and director of the division of pathology

Institute:
Centre de recherche du CHUQ, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec

Department:  
Anatomo-pathology

Province:
Quebec

Training:
Postdoctoral Fellow, pathology oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
Residency, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec and Bonn University, Bonn, Germany,
MD, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
  
Research interests:
Genito-urinary oncology, gynecological oncology, role of proteases in cancer, markers of chemo- and radio-resistance of cancer

Career highlights:
We demonstrated for the first time that the level of proteases produced by reactive stromal cells and not cancer cells predicted a poor prognosis of breast, prostate and ovarian cancer. 
We conducted several studies aimed at identifying clinical chemoresistance markers in breast and ovarian cancer. We showed that p53 overexpression and low proliferation predicted radioresistance in head and neck cancer. This was corroborated by other researchers.  
We reported the first study on the role of frozen section to orient the surgeon on trachelectomies in uterine cervix cancer and we reported the first study on the histopathologic changes induced by total androgen blockade on normal prostate tissue and prostate cancer.
 

Research Projects

Project title: 
Assessment of novel markers with potential prognostic significance in ovarian cancer

Funding period:  
2010-2012

Program:
Operating Grant (Basic Research)

Summary:
Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed when the disease is already well advanced. As women with ovarian cancer tend to respond well to treatment and to achieve remission, most of them will reccur rapidly and die. Using some molecular biology techniques (DNA microarray), our team of researchers identified potential markers that would be associated with ovarian cancer prognosis. These markers are genes encoding for proteases, proteins which degrade other proteins, or are related to proteases. The purpose of the research is to validate the influence of selected markers on ovarian cancer progression/recurrence and death of women. In addition, we will evaluate whether these markers are associated with response to treatment. This study will be conducted using histopathological method on tumor samples from on a large and unique cohort of 245 women who agreed to participate in the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec - FRSQ Réseau cancer ovarian cancer tissue bank. Once their effect will be confirmed, those markers could be used to adapt the management of each woman and to lead to the development of new targeted therapies.

Past CRS projects:
 
2007 Green tea intake for maintenance of complete remission in women with advanced ovarian cancer
 
1998 Prognostic influence of gelatinase-A, MT1-MMP and Timp-2 expression in breast cancer.
 
1994 Prognostic significance of protease production by stromal and cancer cells in breast carcinoma.