The Centre for Lymphoid Cancer (CLC) is located at BC Cancer – Vancouver.
Lymphoid cancer includes lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia.
The CLC is a multi-disciplinary research program focused on the development of new treatments and diagnostics for lymphoid cancers. We are a diverse team of researchers that draw together senior clinical investigators and basic scientists from hematology, hematopathology, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, genomics, epidemiology and medical and radiation oncology.
Our mission is to better understand the biological, genetic and environmental mechanisms that cause lymphoid cancers, the determinants of their clinical behaviour and how lymphoid cancer treatments work so that more efficient diagnostic tools and therapies can be developed to combat these cancers.
The CLC maintains provincial, national and international partnerships with multi-disciplinary scientific researchers and clinicians to:
Accelerate the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for the treatment of lymphoid cancers by fostering a cutting-edge multi-disciplinary research environment with a focus on clinical applications.
Establish an international centre for the study of lymphoid cancers.
Facilitate cross-disciplinary research programs focused on understanding the biological mechanisms of lymphoid cancers for the development of novel therapeutic treatments for these cancers.
Conduct collaborative research programs to develop a more comprehensive understanding of lymphoid cancers.
Lymphoid cancers are cancers that start in the lymphocytes, the cells of the immune system. The lymphoid cancers include non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma and lymphocytic leukemia.
The incidence of the lymphoid cancers is rising faster than any other common cancer seen in North America. Together the lymphocyte cancers are the fourth most common cancer in both men and women and if current trends continue they will soon be the third.
The risk of developing a lymphoid cancer in Canada
- is about 1 in 30
- has been doubling every 20 years for more than 70 years
Lymphoid cancers are among the most common of cancers that affect children and young adults but they can affect patients of any age or background.
Highly effective treatments are available for most lymphoid cancers and can cure many patients even when the disease is advanced. However, these treatments can be difficult to tolerate and ultimately may cure only about 50% of patients.
The Center for Lymphoid Cancers at BC Cancer is a world recognized leader in research into the causes and treatment of lymphoid cancers.
For more about lymphoid cancers, see Types of Cancer.
