Dr. Adrian Sacher is on a mission to help lung cancer patients around the world live longer. Since 2018, he’s been working as a thoracic oncologist and affiliate scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, developing new drugs and leading clinical trials that are transforming the way we treat lung cancer and in turn, many other forms of cancer.
“What my research aims to do is to change cancer from an incurable entity to one that fundamentally can always be treated,” said Dr. Sacher. “By developing new targeted treatments and new immunotherapies, our work is not only changing outcomes for cancer patients, but also what people expect from a cancer diagnosis.”
In the past, people with stage 4 lung cancer had an average life expectancy of about one year after diagnosis. The only treatment available was chemotherapy that provided modest benefits at best. Now, thanks in part to Dr. Sacher’s work, the prognosis is much less grim. “We are now living in a completely new reality,” said Dr. Sacher. “People can now live for many years even with stage 4 cancer, and people with less advanced cancers have an increased chance of becoming cancer-free after treatment,” he said. “It is extraordinary to be able to be part of developing and using these new treatments to help patients.”
Dr. Sacher’s breakthrough work would not be possible without the right team and the right setting. “The Princess Margaret has a unique combination of amazing clinicians and nurses, and extraordinary researchers with incredible abilities to develop new treatments and run clinical trials,” said Dr. Sacher. “There are few places in the world where this type of research and drug development can be done successfully, and The Princess Margaret is our place to do that.”
But even the most exceptional team can’t accomplish this type of research without funding. “The leading-edge research and clinical care that we provide at Princess Margaret Cancer Center is not possible without philanthropic support or efforts like the Princess Margaret Home Lottery,” he said. “Your support is key to our research and ability to help patients and create a future full of hope.”