Building on findings that universal comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) could save lives and reduce costs, the partners turn to real-world evidence to chart the path toward making CGP a standard of care for metastatic cancer in Canada

TORONTO, July 7, 2026 /CNW/ - The Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN) today announced that Phase II of its genomic profiling research initiative is underway, continuing its collaboration with Signal49 Research (formerly The Conference Board of Canada). The new phase shifts the research focus from national economic modelling to real-world evidence, examining how genomic profiling is delivered, accessed, and used across Canada's cancer care systems. The Phase II findings are expected to be released early next year.

Phase II builds directly on the foundation laid in 2025, when CCRAN and Signal49 Research 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 per cent of cancer mortality in Canada.

What Phase I Demonstrated

The Phase I research, Precision in Practice: Costs and Benefits of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling for Five Stage 4 Cancers, found that 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, adopting universal access to CGP could yield the following benefits compared with the current standard of care:

• Approximately 3,440 life-years could be gained across the patient population
• Over $180 million in societal contribution, driven by increased total income tied to improved survival
• Healthcare system cost savings of $87 million to $134 million, or roughly $715 to $2,495 per patient
• Continued low diagnostic costs, at just 0.3 to 4.1 percent of total treatment expenses

The findings established what had previously been missing in Canada: rigorous evidence linking the well-documented patient need for CGP to its measurable value — for both patients and the health system alike.

Why Phase II Matters

For a patient facing metastatic cancer, access to comprehensive genomic profiling can be 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 established the value of closing that gap; decision-makers have since signalled that the remaining barrier is linking Canadian evidence to funding and implementation challenges. Phase II directly addresses that need by generating the real-world evidence required to expand timely, equitable access for 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 — so more patients receive the right test and the right treatment at the right time.

Behind the evidence are the people it is meant to serve.

"I didn't have time to waste, and genomic profiling meant I didn't have to," said Eric Hamilton, a metastatic colorectal cancer 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."

For CCRAN, that patient perspective is the central focus of the work.

"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 patients across the country."

Turning that goal into policy change requires evidence that decision-makers can trust.

"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. "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."

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 — and placing 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 patients in Canada. Phase II findings will be shared through CCRAN's and Signal49 Research's networks.

CCRAN remains steadfast in its commitment to improving the lives of cancer patients and caregivers through evidence-based support, education, and advocacy — bridging the gap between patient experience and system-level change across cancer types, in partnership with patient groups that share its commitment to policy-level change in Canada.

With Gratitude to Our Sponsors and Partners

CCRAN extends its sincere thanks to its Phase I and Phase II sponsors, including AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Roche Diagnostics, as well as the many others whose generous support sustained this research.

CCRAN also thanks the following patient groups, standing in solidarity as Phase II partners on this project, whose shared commitment is advancing equitable access to comprehensive genomic profiling for metastatic cancer patients across Canada.

Participating patient organizations include:

• AYA CAN
• All.Can Canada
• Bladder Cancer Canada
• Canadian Breast Cancer Network
• Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
• Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD)
• Cholangio-Hepatocellular Carcinoma Canada
• Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec
• GIST Sarcoma Life Raft Group Canada
• HPV Global Action
• Liver Canada
• Lung Cancer Canada
• My Gut Feeling — Stomach Cancer Foundation of Canada
• Myeloma Canada
• Pancreatic Cancer North America
• Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada
• Save Your Skin Foundation (SYSF)

About CCRAN

The Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN) is a national, patient-focused advocacy group championing the health and well-being of Canadians touched by colorectal cancer and others at risk of developing the disease. We provide support, education, and advocacy to patients and their caregivers to improve patients' quality of life and longevity. CCRAN has expanded its patient-focused mandate to serve patients across multiple tumour types through its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) patient evidence submissions, educational events, research and advocacy initiatives, and patient programming, ultimately reducing the burden of cancer in Canada.

SOURCE Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN)