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The Garron Family Cancer Centre
In January 2008, SickKids launched the Comprehensive Cancer Centre. The Centre was designed to enhance and integrate all aspects of clinical, research and educational activities in the discipline of oncology at SickKids.
Two years later, in 2010, the Garron Family donated an unprecedented $30 million to SickKids to revolutionize the care and treatment of children’s cancer in Canada and around the world.
The donation transformed the Comprehensive Cancer Centre into the Garron Family Cancer Centre (GFCC), the largest paediatric oncology centre in Canada, and created five Endowed Chairs in Childhood Cancer Research. A generous new gift of $10 million over 10 years from the Garron family, beginning in 2021, will support the Garron Family Chairs in Childhoood Cancer Research and other high priority needs of the centre.
Translation of new knowledge at the GFCC continues to transform clinical practice and improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for children and their families affected by cancer. Our vision is better outcomes for children with cancer though collaboration, innovation, and discovery.
Meet the Garron Family
Myron and Berna Garron’s son Michael was treated for cancer at SickKids for many years. In 1975, Michael passed away at age 13 from synovial sarcoma, a rare type of soft tissue cancer. Their unprecedented gift is an acknowledgement of the dedication and level of care Michael received and a commitment to help create more positive outcomes for childhood cancer patients and their families.
See how we’re impacting the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of children and young adults with cancer.
Check out training opportunities and education resources.
The Division of Haematology/Oncology
We're one of the largest divisions in the Department of Paediatrics.
Centre Leadership
The GFCC is an innovative and collaborative virtual centre that brings together scientists, clinicians, and educators across multiple disciplines to advance the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of children, adolescents and young adults with cancer. GFCC faculty is far-reaching and its collaborators can be found throughout numerous divisions, departments and programs within the Hospital, Research Institute and the broader community.
- Linette Margallo, MN
SickKids Foundation
- Ulana Bochnewicz
- Kathryn Breckbill
- Donna Berry
- Devon Williams (Interim)
Clinical Advisory Council
Education Advisory Council
- Michael Wilson, PhD (Co-Chair)
- Denise Mills, NP (Co-Chair)
Fellowship Advisory Council
Milestones and Achievements
These milestones are just a handful of projects from the GFCC that are making an impact in cancer research and treatment.
KiCS/PROFYLE
In 2016, SickKids established the world-leading SickKids Cancer Sequencing (KiCS) Program, which was designed to analyze the genetic make-up of a child’s cancer to determine a patient’s unique genetic fingerprint, identify the cause of the tumor, gain information about prognosis, and implement personalized treatments. Together with PROFYLE, a trailblazing pan-Canadian program being conducted in partnership with the Terry Fox Research Institute, multiple childhood cancer foundcations, and all 16 paediatric cancer programs across Canada, KiCS matches nationally-collected sequencing data with potentially life-saving drugs.
CAR T-cell therapy
CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment in which a patient’s T cells (a type of immune cell) are changed in the laboratory so they will bind to the cancer cells and kill them, was first approved for use by Health Canada was in 2018. CAR T-cell therapy is now available for patients at SickKids with recurrent or refractory childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). SickKids is one of only 2 Canadian centres to offer CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed ALL. To date, over 419 cancer patients from SickKids, other centres in Ontario and Canada and internationally, have been enrolled in KiCS, with clinically relevant mutations found in almost 53% of cases.
New Agent and Innovative Therapy (NAIT) program
The New Agent and Innovative Therapy program (NAIT) at SickKids is supported in part by the GFCC and is focused on providing access to new drugs and other treatments for childhood cancer patients. For more information about current clinical trials and eligibility, contact us today.
MIBG Program
To deliver this targeted radiation safely to children, and to keep families and hospital staff safe, a specialized room, equipment and healthcare team with special training are needed. SickKids' MIBG room includes state-of-the-art equipment and specialized Neuroblastoma and MIBG Therapy Programs.
SickKids Podcast VS Cancer Genetics: Curing Cancer Through Gene Sequencing
Baby Izaan was in trouble. Despite multiple rounds of chemotherapy, his tumour continued to grow, and time was running out. Izaan’s oncologist, Dr. David Malkin, enrolled him in KiCS: The SickKids Cancer Sequencing Program. The hope? That by analyzing the tumour’s DNA, they could figure out how to stop it.
The GFCC Strategic Plan: Integrating Research - Innovating Care 2020-2025
The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan outlines the foundational essentials and new strategic priorities that will enable Integrating Research – Innovating Care. This plan was developed with broad engagement of both internal and external stakeholders and will guide the focus and investment of the Centre over the next five years.
The GFCC 2019-2020 Annual Report
Download and review our 2019-2020 Annual Report, detailing our progress and milestones in innovative care, translating research into clinical care and providing learning opportunities and continuing education.
Partners
Latest News
October 8, 2021
A screening tool developed at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and SickKids is able to differentiate between a low or high likelihood of having a cancer predisposition syndrome in children and youth with cancer.
July 29, 2021
Updating risk classification to help tailor treatments for neuroblastoma globally
New research co-led by SickKids and CHOP offers a new classification system to help clinicians more precisely assess risk and tailor treatment for children with neuroblastoma.
July 23, 2021
New research shows sarcoma’s origins could be decades in the making
Scientists from Sinai Health and SickKids have identified three subtypes of leiomyosarcoma, or LMS, a sarcoma common in adults, and found evidence its origins begin years prior to diagnosis.
