Ep. 533: Decoding Cancer
Guest: Dr. Sam Aparicio, BC Cancer
Over the past century, life expectancy in North America has increased from an average of 47 years to, now, more than 75 years.
Along with this increase in years, cancer rates have also increased. According to Dr. Sam Aparicio of BC Cancer and the Don Rix Distinguished Keynote speaker at Genome BC’s Decoding Cancer event, “cancer is not exclusively a disease of aging, but cancer is much more prevalent in older people.”
Aparicio says, “Age association happens because cancer is a disease of the genome. Namely, the instructions that are stored in our cells become corrupted over time and [lead] to deficiencies in the duplication instructions that lead to cancer.” Genomics are key to understanding why cancer can manifest in our bodies and genomics play a vital role in decoding cancer.
Enter Noble Laureate Michael Smith, who, in 1999, envisioned a genome centre in British Columbia that could and would be a world leader in decoding and developing genomic based therapies to address cancer.
We invited Dr. Sam Aparicio of BC Cancer to join us for a Conversation That Matters about addressing cancer through genomics and British Columbia’s role as a global leader in research and treatment.
Want to learn more about our guest?
Check out their profile on our partnered program, Careers That Matter!
