DSRCT Research Fund - 2025: DSRCT Research Fund

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Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour Research Fund

Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) is a highly aggressive form of soft tissue sarcoma, primarily affecting young people, especially male adolescents and young adults. With typically poor outcomes, we must work together to change this tragic reality.

Dr. Torsten Nielsen – a BC Cancer Clinician Scientist and sarcoma expert – along with his dedicated team of researchers, is committed to finding effective treatments for those battling DSRCT. Through collaborations with leading scientists and institutions in Ontario, the USA, Germany, and the EU, Dr. Nielsen’s team is working hard to accelerate progress and find innovative solutions for DSRCT patients.

Your support is vital in making this possible. The active research efforts include:

Using cutting-edge microscopic imaging and machine learning algorithms to study DSRCT cells and their immune microenvironment, and identify targetable biomarkers these cancers express which could guide new treatment approaches.
Building a DSRCT tissue microarray and tumor genome resource linked to treatment and outcome data, as a tool to develop clinically-applicable tests that can predict drug sensitivity and patient prognosis.
Developing a novel genetically-engineered lab model of DSRCT that can accelerate testing of experimental therapies and their comparison to existing chemotherapy.

Cancer research relies on three kinds of funding sources: government, industry, and private donations. Government funding, which involves lengthy bureaucratic processes, and industry funding, predicated on near-term returns on investment — predominantly goes to common cancers. Private donations have the most immediate impact and are essential to advancing research in rarer forms of cancer, like DSRCT, for which very little dedicated funding exists.

Sarcomas disproportionately affect young people, making this fight even more challenging – both emotionally and financially. With generous support from donors like you, we can further the success of Dr. Nielsen and his collaborators’ research programs, and bring hope to families around the world affected by desmoplastic small round cell tumor, now and in the future.

Donor Impact Update: Accelerating Hope for DSRCT

Because of donor support, the DSRCT research program is reaching important new milestones and gaining recognition from leaders in the international rare cancer community. This summer, research funded by the DSRCT Research Fund was showcased at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Rare Tumors Conference in Vancouver, where promising findings on potential targeted therapies for DSRCT were presented to researchers from around the world. The work generated significant interest, including from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health's newly launched Ultra-Rare Cancer Treatment Advancement (ULTRA) Program, which has identified DSRCT as one of only two initial cancer types for focused investment and collaboration. As a result, our team has been welcomed into discussions around future international research partnerships that could accelerate the search for new treatments.

Your support is also helping to expand the research team's capacity at a critical time. A new scientist, Jaskirat Sandhu, joined the lab this fall to lead large-scale drug screening efforts aimed at identifying existing FDA-approved medications that may be effective against DSRCT. By testing thousands of drugs that have never before been evaluated in this disease, the team hopes to uncover treatment opportunities that could move toward patient benefit much more quickly than developing entirely new therapies. At the same time, researchers continue to make progress on a first-of-its-kind DSRCT mouse model, a tool that could transform how this disease is studied and tested in the laboratory. Together, these advances are creating new momentum in a field where research opportunities have historically been limited, bringing the DSRCT community closer to urgently needed treatment options.

Fundraising Goal: $1,000,000

of Goal

$592,425 Raised

$1,000,000.00

Fundraising Honor Roll

Anonymous

$400,000

Workout to Conquer Cancer 2025

$80,289

Tour de Cure

$66,200

Victor & Anna Kern Foundation

$15,000

Anonymous Event Gifts

$10,003

The St. Regis Bar & Grill

$2,064

Mr. Joel Shacker

$2,051

Mr. Jay Sujir

$2,000

113455 Canada Inc.

$2,000

Mr. Brad Scott

$1,025

Mr. Gary Sundvick

$1,000

Raymond Kidd

$962

Mrs. Kirsten Pipes

$895

Mr. Dick Glassford

$500

Graham D. Pap

$500

Mr. Rob L. Horricks

$500

Mr. Frank Lindsay

$500

Mr. Tyler Lewis

$500

Ms. Shannon Kidd

$500

Ms. Sarah Everett

$400

Mr. Ari Peltier-Shaw

$400

Jim Phillips

$375

Mrs. Kelli L. Fitzmaurice

$300

Ms. Melisa K. Keeler

$300

Mrs. Shona F. Hurst

$250

Anne E. Connolly

$250

Naresh Ponjani

$250

Lauren Kipp

$250

Tremayne E Perry

$250

Jessica & Ken

$200

Marion Bonner

$200

Cheryl Laakmann

$200

Stuart Macdonald

$200

Debra Makarenko

$200

Tara Folk

$200

Tatiana Solis

$200

Michael McBride

$190

Mr. Kevin May

$150

Amy Wang

$150

Mr. Elliott Pap

$150

Mr. Michele Lombardi

$150

Mr. Joel S. Lombardi

$120

Catherine Burkett

$100

Ms. Sada A. Kobe

$100

Rose

$100

Elizabeth Pipes

$100

Mr. Keith Stewart

$100

Aaron Keitlah

$50

Mrs. Susan Roberts

$50

Women's Cancer Campaign