Projects

SPHERE applies a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer research. This includes mixed-method studies with an emphasis on big data and machine learning, real-world evidence, stratification of populations and patient engagement. A key goal of SPHERE's research is to understand how and why breast cancer affects different cohorts in different ways, such as women aged 40 and under or women aged 75 and older. Study results are used to identify, inform and create innovative strategies that will improve the quality, efficiency and outcomes of breast cancer care.

Current Projects

The RUBY Study

Reducing the Burden of Breast Cancer in Young Women.

Co-PI: May Lynn Quan

Theme: Improving care for Canadians

A self-management intervention to support young women with breast cancer.

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Sapphire

The RUBY Study

Sapphire: Improving Outcomes for Young Women with Breast Cancer.

Co-PI: May Lynn Quan

Theme: Improving care for Canadians

A peer support app to support young women with and beyond breast cancer.

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GeneScreen

The RUBY Study

GeneScreen

Scientist looking through microscope at lab specimen.

GeneScreen: A Navigated Screening Pathway for Patients with Genetic Pre-Disposition to Cancer.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Fellow: Cecily Stockley

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

NAC Pathway

Surgical Decision Making in Young Breast Cancer Patients

GeneScreen

NAC Pathway: Implementation of a Clinical Care Pathway for Triple Negative HER2+ Breast Cancer Patients.

Co-PI: Alison Laws

Student: Julia Downey

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

Surgical Decision Making in Young Breast Cancer Patients

Three surgeons having a discussion, with one holding a clipboard and showing others a plan.

Surgical Decision Making in Young Breast Cancer Patients: Impact of Pre-Treatment Surgical Preference Congruence with Surgical Treatment on Psychosocial Health.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Fellow: Melissa Wood

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

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Diagnostic Delay Among Young Women with Breast Cancer

Surgical Decision Making in Young Breast Cancer Patients

Doctor showing medical information to patient while sitting at desk.

Diagnostic Delay Among Young Women with Breast Cancer.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Resident: Katherine Fleshner

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

Gene-Negative Breast Cancer Surgical Choices & Psychosocial Impacts

Prognostic significance of lobular versus ductal histology in HER2-positive breast cancer

Local Regional Management of the Axilla in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Doctor discussing medical information with patient in a clinic.

Young Women with Gene-Negative Breast Cancer on Surgical Choice and Psychosocial Impacts.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Resident: Christine Wang

Theme: Special population

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Local Regional Management of the Axilla in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Prognostic significance of lobular versus ductal histology in HER2-positive breast cancer

Local Regional Management of the Axilla in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Doctor typing at a laptop with paper work and stethoscope beside them.

Local Regional Management of the Axilla in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Following Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy: An Evaluation of Real Work Practice.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Resident: Katherine Fleschner

Theme: Special population

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Prognostic significance of lobular versus ductal histology in HER2-positive breast cancer

Impact of Pre-operative MRI on Recurrence in Patients Diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Prognostic Significance of Lobular Versus Ductal Histology in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer.

PI: Alison Laws

Theme: Special population

Impact of Pre-operative MRI on Recurrence in Patients Diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

View of MRI machine if patient was laying down and looking toward entrance to the machines tunnel.

Impact of Pre-operative MRI on Recurrence in Patients Diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.

PI: Alison Laws

Fellow: Kadhim Taqi

Theme: Special population

ALErT

Impact of Pre-operative MRI on Recurrence in Patients Diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Staging Investigations in T1-2N+

Doctor in white coat clicking AI symbol.

ALErT: Artificial Intelligence Lymph Node Evaluation Post-Neoadjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Resident: Mary Hou

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

Staging Investigations in T1-2N+

Impact of Pre-operative MRI on Recurrence in Patients Diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Staging Investigations in T1-2N+

Young scientist wearing googles, holding up vial of test substance in a lab.

Staging Investigations in T1-2N+ Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and it's Clinical Implications.

PI: Alison Laws

Fellow: Kadhim Taqi

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

MyCare

Evaluating Margins in Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ

Doctor holding patients hand for comfort.

My Care: Timely, Coordinated Patient Centered Care for Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neo-Adjuvant Therapy.

PI: Alison Laws

Theme: Special population

Evaluating Margins in Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ

Doctor writing notes beside laptop with stethoscope laying across the keyboard.

Long Term Local Recurrence Rates Following Selective Omission of Re-Excision for Patients with Ductual Carcinoma In-Situ and margins <2mm.

PI: Alison Laws

Fellow/Residents: Cecily Stockley, Mary Hou

Theme: Special population

TAS: A Retrospective Cohort

Evaluating Margins in Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ

TAS: A Retrospective Cohort

Two doctors sitting at table taking notes and having a discussion.

TAS: Tailored Axillary Surgery for Clinically Node Positive Breast Cancer. A Retrospective Cohort Study.

PI: Alison Laws

Fellow: Emerik Arsenault

Theme: Special population

ARMOR

Additional Benefit of Endocrine Therapy to RT in Post-menopausal Patients

TAS: A Retrospective Cohort

Woman holding her upper arm in discomfort.

Arm Morbidity Following Tailored Axillary Surgery for Node-Positive Breast Cancer (ARMOR).

PI: Alison Laws

Theme: Special population

Additional Benefit of Endocrine Therapy to RT in Post-menopausal Patients

Additional benefit of endocrine therapy to RT in postmenopausal patients with low-risk breast cancer.

PI: Lisa Barbera

Theme: Special population

Safety of Breastfeeding Post-Radiation Therapy

Additional Benefit of Endocrine Therapy to RT in Post-menopausal Patients

Safety, Feasibility and Behavior Patterns of Breastfeeding Post Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer Survivors.

PI: Lisa Barbera

Karishma George & Jade Pyo

Theme: Special population

PCR Project

Re-Irradiation of Breast Cancer In-Field Recurrences: Locoregional Practice Patterns

Reconstruction Radiation

Individual typing on laptop with coding presented on the screen.

PCR Project.

PI: May Lynn Quan and Darren Brenner

Robert Basmadjian

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

Reconstruction Radiation

Re-Irradiation of Breast Cancer In-Field Recurrences: Locoregional Practice Patterns

Reconstruction Radiation

Doctor explaining radiation therapy to a young woman.

Reconstruction Radiation.

PI: May Lynn Quan and Claire Temple-Oberle
Nina Samso

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

Re-Irradiation of Breast Cancer In-Field Recurrences: Locoregional Practice Patterns

Doctor standing beside laying down patient as they enter into a radiation machine with arms up.

Re-Irradiation of Breast Cancer In-Field Recurrences: Locoregional Practice Patterns.

PI: Natalie Logie and May Lynn Quan

Student: Conrad Bayley

Theme: Special population

Psychosocial Outcomes Following Surgery in Women with Unilateral Nonhereditary Breast Cancer

Exploring Patient Factors Influencing Surgical Treatment Plan in Young Women with DCIS in Canada

Psychosocial Outcomes Following Surgery in Women with Unilateral Nonhereditary Breast Cancer

Individual sitting on couch holding pillow and talking to doctor as they write notes.

Longitudinal Study of Psychosocial Outcomes Following Surgery in Women with Nonhereditary Breast Cancer.

PI: May Lynn Quan & Kelly Metcalfe

Theme: Special population

Arm and Shoulder Dysfunction in Early Post-operative Patients

Exploring Patient Factors Influencing Surgical Treatment Plan in Young Women with DCIS in Canada

Psychosocial Outcomes Following Surgery in Women with Unilateral Nonhereditary Breast Cancer

Doctor examining patients shoulder mobility/ holding arm up and out.

Measuring and Characterizing Arm and Shoulder Dysfunction in Early Post-operative Breast Cancer Patients.

PI: Nathan Zondervan

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

Exploring Patient Factors Influencing Surgical Treatment Plan in Young Women with DCIS in Canada

Doctor in white jacket sitting down with patient and explaining medical information.

Exploring patient factors influencing surgical treatment plan in young women with DCIS in Canada.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Students: Karen Zeng & Asha Swamy

Theme: Special population

Osteoporosis screening in breast cancer patients

Axillary Management and Patient-Reported Arm Symptoms

Exploring Patient Factors Influencing Surgical Treatment Plan in Young Women with DCIS in Canada

Opportunistic Osteoporosis screening in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy.

PI: Sangjune Laurence Lee

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

Axillary Management and Patient-Reported Arm Symptoms

Axillary Management and Patient-Reported Arm Symptoms in Young Women with Clinically Node-Positive Breast Cancer: A RUBY Sub-Study.

PI: Alison Laws

Resident: Mary Hou

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

MagSeed Evaluation

Axillary Management and Patient-Reported Arm Symptoms

Blue gloved and handing over surgical instrument to other blue gloved hand in a surgery room.

MagSeed Evaluation (QI Project).

PI: May Lynn Quan and Alison Laws

Student: Ben Darby

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

A Closer Look at Canadian Young Women 40 and Under with Primary Ductal Carcinoma in situ

Five woman standing linked arms walking in field with backs toward you.

A Closer Look at Canadian Young Women 40 and Under with Primary Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Students: Karen Zeng & Asha Swamy

Theme: Special population

Collaborative Projects

PLAN Study

Long Term Safety of Nipple Sparing Mastectomy in Gene Positive Women

Needle syringe getting substance out of clear vial.

Prevention of persistent pain with lidocaine infusions in breast cancer surgery (PLAN)

Exploring interventions to prevent persistent pain after breast cancer surgery through the use of lidocaine infusions.

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Long Term Safety of Nipple Sparing Mastectomy in Gene Positive Women

Long term oncologic safety of nipple sparing and mastectomy in women with high penetrance germline pathogenic variants in breast cancer susceptibility genes.

Exploring breast cancer incidence in women with genetic risk who undergo risk-reducing mastectomy, focusing on the effectiveness of nipple-sparing mastectomy.

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Completed Projects

IN-SYNC: Understanding the biology of breast cancer

Alberta Cancer SCN Breast Health Initiative Collaboration

Scientist with coat, googles and gloves examining specimen under microscope in a lab.

Pilot Study to Establish Research Tools for Understanding the Biology of Breast Cancer in Women 40 Years and Under

PI: May Lynn Quan

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

A live cell banking process for young-onset breast tumours that can be used in live cell studies.

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Alberta Cancer SCN Breast Health Initiative Collaboration

Doctor in white coat performing breast examination on young woman.

The Cancer Strategic Clinical Network (SCN) established the Provincial Breast Health Initiative to implement improvements and address gaps in care across breast cancer pathways.

PI: May Lynn Quan

Theme: Improving care for Albertans

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Natural language processing method

Alberta Cancer SCN Breast Health Initiative Collaboration

Natural language processing method

Stethoscope laying across laptop keyboard.

Validating a natural language processing method for identifying complete pathologic response of breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy from electronic pathology reports.

PI: Shawn Xu

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

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Diagnostic Interval

Predicting pathologic complete response

Natural language processing method

Doctor typing on laptop in blue scrubs, with stethoscope laying beside on table.

New methods to determine the diagnostic interval for cancer patients using administrative data.

PI: Shawn Xu

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

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Algorithms for metastatic recurrence

Predicting pathologic complete response

Doctor typing on keyboard with data/algorithm symbols all around the image.

Developing algorithms to determine the cancer patients with metastatic recurrence using real-world data.

PI: Shawn Xu

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

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Predicting pathologic complete response

Patient being administered medication through a port in their hand.

A Prediction Model for Pathologic Complete Response Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Using Routinely-collected Health Record Data in Alberta

PI: Darren Brenner

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

Prediction models to support successful neoadjuvant treatment.

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Etiology of young vs. older-onset breast cancer

Mutational Landscape Differences Between Young-Onset and Older-Onset Breast Cancer Patients

PI: Darren Brenner

Theme: Evaluating/ using real-world data

A cross-comparison of tumours that will help identify mutational signatures by age group.

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