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Message from The Ottawa Hospital Board Chair and CEO

Read more on the Message from The Ottawa Hospital Board Chair and CEO

Message from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Board Chair and CEO

Read more on the Message from The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Board Chair and CEO

In the spotlight

Research improves care:

A landmark study looked at the connection between blood clots and cancer. The surprising findings will save countless patients around the world from unnecessary and potentially harmful tests.

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In the spotlight

Research improves care:

A landmark study looked at the connection between blood clots and cancer. The surprising findings will save countless patients around the world from unnecessary and potentially harmful tests.

Message from The Ottawa Hospital Board Chair and CEO

Read more on the Message from The Ottawa Hospital Board Chair and CEO

Message from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Board Chair and CEO

Read more on the Message from The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Board Chair and CEO

Jamie Dossett-Mercer planned to hit the gym after seeing his family doctor about the mysterious swelling in his left leg. Instead, he was sent to the Emergency Department. This turn of events led him to participate in a research study at The Ottawa Hospital that is changing medical practice around the world.

The 50-year-old business development officer had venous thrombosis, a blood clot in the legs that affects about 340,000 Canadians every year. If part of the clot had broken off, it could have travelled up to his lungs and blocked an artery, which is often fatal.

“There was swelling and discolouring, but I didn’t feel any pain,” said Dossett-Mercer. “It was a big surprise that it was a clot that went all the way from ankle to groin.”

Dossett-Mercer was sent directly to the Emergency Department for an injection of anticoagulants to break up the clot. The next morning he went to see hematologist Dr. Marc Carrier.

The moment Dr. Carrier walked into the room, Dossett-Mercer knew he was in good hands.

“There was this incredible connection,” said Dossett-Mercer. “As soon as you start a conversation with Dr. Carrier, he’s there with you 100 percent.”

One thing they discussed was the Ottawa man’s possible risk of cancer, because unexplained blood clots were long thought to be a predictor of this disease. Some guidelines recommend CT scanning to detect possible hidden cancers in patients like Dossett-Mercer, but there was controversy about this practice. Doctors weren’t really sure that it helped detect cancers, and CT scanning exposes patients to potentially harmful radiation.

When Dossett-Mercer learned that Dr. Carrier was conducting a clinical trial to find out whether these scans were really necessary, he jumped at the chance to participate.

“Everybody wants to know whether or not they’re at risk of cancer before something big happens,” said Dossett-Mercer. ”When dealing with something as mysterious as this, I thought participating in a study would give me a greater chance of finding out.”

He was one of the 854 patients across Canada who took part in the trial. The results were dramatic and unexpected: CT scans did not improve cancer detection in patients with unexplained blood clots. In addition, it turned out that these patients were not at any more risk of developing cancer than the general population.

“This is really reassuring for patients,” said Dr. Carrier, who is also a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and an associate professor at The University of Ottawa. “Now we’re able to change practice and no longer recommend intensive cancer screening for this patient population. We’re saving patients from unnecessary radiation and anxiety, and we estimate that we’re saving the health-care system in Ontario $8.2 million a year just by performing fewer CT scans.”

This research was published by the top medical journal in the world, the New England Journal of Medicine. It was further recognized as one of the top 12 studies the journal published in 2015.

This clinical trial is just one of more than 600 trials involving more than 15,000 patient volunteers conducted at The Ottawa Hospital in 2015. Many of these trials tested innovative new treatments, while others examined different ways to prevent or diagnose disease, or deliver health care more efficiently.

“The Ottawa Hospital is an ideal environment for young investigators like me to do clinical trials,” said Dr. Carrier. “I had a lot of support from different research groups and my mentors. Interacting with patients, hearing what their questions are and trying to answer those questions are what drive me to do clinical research.”

Today, Dossett-Mercer has completely recovered from his blood clot, but he still takes regular medication to keep new clots from forming. He is glad to know that he doesn’t have to worry about an increased risk of cancer.

“The doctors and nurses at The Ottawa Hospital have been absolutely fantastic from the first to the last,” he said.  “I was happy to participate in research that is improving care not only at the hospital, but around the world.”

Links:

Study could reduce unnecessary cancer screening (Media release)

Top medical journal recognizes practice-changing research at The Ottawa Hospital
(Dr. Marc Carrier’s study in top 12 New England Journal of Medicine papers for 2015)

Screening for Occult Cancer in Unprovoked Venous Thromboembolism
(Full study published in the New England Journal of Medicine)

“Everybody wants to know whether or not they’re at risk of cancer before something big happens. When dealing with something as mysterious as this, I thought participating in a study would give me a greater chance of finding out.”
– Jamie Dossett-Mercer

“Interacting with patients, hearing what their questions are and trying to answer those questions are what drive me to do clinical research.”
– Dr. Marc Carrier