Research Updates
Canadian MPN Research Foundation Research Update
Vikas Gupta, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Leukemia Site Lead and Director of the Elizabeth and Tony Comper MPN Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and a member of CMPNRF’s Board of Directors, stated:
“An estimated 35,000 to 40,000 Canadians are living with an MPN. There is currently no cure besides a high risk bone marrow replacement for which few patients are eligible. There are also relatively few safe and effective treatments available for MPN patients and while most of these therapies manage blood counts, provide some symptom relief and lower risk, none eliminate the underlying disease. For this reason, more research is urgently needed.
I joined forces with CMPNRF because it is intensively focused on identifying and funding scientific studies to turn these chronic blood cancers into more manageable and potentially curable conditions."
Dr. Gupta continued, “Key areas of MPN research we seek to support include finding a cure, learning how to stop disease progression, improving a patient’s quality of life and discovering clinically relevant targets to develop new more effective treatments.”
Merrill Pierce, Chair of CMPNRF, stated, “CMPNRF is committed to research that ensures Canadian representation and participation, and to connecting Canadian members of the MPN community to resources specifically targeted to their needs and to improving their lives. We are working with partners internationally and in Canada (including LLSC - Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada) to enhance our research for the future. As an evolving patient-centered, research-focused organization we cannot succeed without your support. Here are a few ways you can help as we strive to expand our research efforts and grow our organization:
CMPNRF LLSC web announcement
The Canadian MPN Research Foundation (CMPNRF) and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) are pleased to announce a new partnership to co-fund important, new research in the field of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
This marks the first research funding alliance between CMPNRF and LLSC, bringing together resources, expertise and a shared commitment to accelerating discovery and improving outcomes for people living with MPNs.
The partnership represents an exciting opportunity to strengthen investment in Canadian MPN research and support innovative work with the aim of advancing our understanding and treatment of these rare blood cancers.
Further details about the research funding opportunity, including its priorities and application process, will be announced shortly.
Stay tuned as CMPNRF and LLSC begin an important new chapter in advancing Canadian MPN research.
About Our Research and Current Funded Studies
The Canadian MPN Research Foundation (CMPNRF) was established in 2018. Our mission is to stimulate original Canadian research in pursuit of new treatment options -- and ultimately a cure -- for the blood cancers collectively known as myeloproliferative neoplasms, MPNs: polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and myelofibrosis (MF).
Our two recent research grants, awarded in 2024, have led to important initial results that have the potential to improve patient outcomes in both the near and long-term.
The first research grant, known as the MPN-FIT Trial, was designed to evaluate the value of exercise to alleviate the heavy symptom burden associated with MPNs and improve the quality of life for patients. Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are associated with a high symptom burden and impaired quality of life (QoL), often unaided by available treatments. Physical activity has demonstrated benefits in other cancers; however, its potential has yet to be explored in MPN. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a supervised exercise program in patients with MPN based on longitudinal assessment of symptom burden, QoL, and clinical/inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR, ferritin, LDH, serum cytokines).
Importantly, the initial pilot study funding from CMPNRF was key to the award of additional funding by the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network’s Patient Voices in Research Initiative.
Initial findings have been reported in April 2026 in Blood Advances: MPN-FIT: a randomized controlled pilot trial of supervised to expand the study nationally. exercise in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Reference: Ouellet et al. Blood Advances. 2026;10(7):2142-2152. Link: https://ashpublications.org/bloodadvances/article-pdf/10/7/2142/2510657/blooda_adv-2025-018682-main.pdf
Natasha Szuber, MD from CIUSSS de l'Est-de- l'Île-de-Montréal- Installation Hôpital Maisonneuve Rosemont-Research Center (CR-HMR) and Shireen Sirhan, MD from Jewish General Hospital (JGH)-McGill University were the lead authors on this study. They noted:
Our patients and our research teams are deeply appreciative of the support and funding of the Canadian MPN Research Foundation. We are excited to pursue study next steps and continue to meaningfully advance patient-oriented research.
The second research grant was focused on advancing precision medicine and diagnostics in MPNs through a study entitled “Preliminary Validation of MPN Bone Marrow Core Biopsies for Clinical Genomics and Spatial Transcriptomics”.
To unlock more molecular information from bone marrow biopsies, Dr. Tsui and his team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have been experimenting with different bone softening procedures to see how best molecular techniques may be applied. This is an important first step because they expect to discover novel biomarkers in the bone marrow of MPN patients compared to studying blood alone.
The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words…” is particularly applicable in MPNs since this architectural bone marrow “picture” is relied upon by hematopathologists to distinguish MPNs such as polycythemia vera and essential thrombocytosis from higher risk subtypes like primary myelofibrosis.
Dr. Tsui noted: “As we fully validate this processing technique for clinical use, we intend to share the protocol with other laboratories through the Ontario Health- Genetics Community of Practice as well as other webinars/conferences such as the Canadian Association of Pathologists (CAP), the Great Lakes Genomics Conference and the Canadian Leukemia Study Group (CLSG).”
Looking Ahead
CMPNRF is committed to research that ensures Canadian representation and participation, and to connecting Canadian members of the MPN community to resources specifically targeted to their needs and to improving their lives. We are working with partners internationally and in Canada (including LLSC - Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada) to enhance our research for the future. Merrill Pierce, Chair of CMPNRF, added, “As an evolving patient-centered, research-focused organization we cannot succeed without your support! We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress!”