On Biomarker Awareness Day, CCRAN Champions Equitable Access to Precision Oncology to Improve Patient Outcomes
TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2025 /CNW/ - In recognition of Biomarker Awareness Day – 13th November 2025, the Colorectal Cancer Resource and Action Network (CCRAN) reaffirms its national commitment to advancing precision cancer care in Canada. CCRAN is calling for equitable access to biomarker testing and comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) - critical tools that help ensure cancer patients receive the most effective and personalized treatment possible.
Biomarker testing helps oncologists understand the unique genetic and molecular features of each patient's tumour. This allows targeted treatments to be prescribed based on what will work best for each individual, replacing an older "one-size-fits-all" approach to cancer care. Yet across Canada, many patients still face barriers - results can take too long, access and funding differ by postal code, and awareness among both patients and clinicians remains limited.
"Biomarker testing is transforming cancer care, but only if patients can access it in a timely and equitable manner," says Filomena Servidio-Italiano, President & CEO of CCRAN. "Our goal is simple - to ensure that every Canadian, regardless of where they live, can benefit from the same timely, comprehensive diagnostic information that guides the most effective treatment decisions.
CCRAN, a national patient-focused organisation, is championing advanced biomarker testing as a cornerstone of equitable, evidence-based cancer care in Canada. At its June 2025 Pan-Tumour Biomarkers Conference, CCRAN brought together over 600 patients, caregivers, clinicians, pathologists, researchers, advocates and policy-shapers from across Canada to explore barriers and opportunities in biomarker access.
Among the highlights: a first-of-its-kind Canadian cost-benefit analysis, developed by CCRAN in partnership with the Conference Board of Canada, evaluated the value of CGP across five metastatic tumour types (lung, colorectal, pancreatic, breast & prostate). The report demonstrates that upfront investment in CGP yields downstream system savings by improving outcomes and leveraging precision medicine as value-based care.
"In Canada, timely access to advanced biomarker testing is critical - not optional," says Dr. Sharlene Gill, Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and Medical Oncologist at BC Cancer. "When a patient's tumour biomarker status is known in a timely manner, treatment decisions are better informed leading to improved outcomes for Canadians with cancer, and smarter returns on Canada's healthcare investment."
CCRAN is also working in collaboration with 23 other leading patient-advocacy organisations (see addendum). This united effort ensures biomarker testing advocacy is not hindered by tumour type or geography, but is national, equitable and patient-driven.
For Katie Hulan, a young woman living well with metastatic lung cancer, biomarker testing was pivotal.
"Learning my biomarker status completely changed my treatment path," says Katie Hulan. "It gave my care team options we didn't know existed and gave me hope when I needed it most. Every patient in Canada deserves that same chance to find the treatment that's right for them."
On this Biomarker Awareness Day, CCRAN urges:
- Patients diagnosed with advanced cancer to ask: "Has biomarker testing been performed? What does my tumour's biomarker profile show?"
- National standardization of universal access to CGP for metastatic cancer patients, with clear expectations for turnaround times.
- Provincial health systems to commit to funding CGP and ensure timely and equitable access across jurisdictions.
- Clinicians and laboratory teams to embed biomarker testing into the care pathway early, and to communicate results clearly to patients.
- Patient advocacy organisations and the public to engage in education, share stories and support system transformation for precision diagnostics in Canada.
CCRAN will continue to lead national efforts to close the biomarker testing gap by empowering patients, informing policy, and shaping a more equitable future for cancer care in Canada.
About CCRAN
The Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN) is a national, patient-focused advocacy group championing the health and wellbeing of Canadians touched by colorectal cancer and others at risk of developing the disease. We provide support, education, and advocacy to patients (and their caregivers) to help improve patients' quality of life, as well as their longevity.
CCRAN has expanded its patient-focused mandate to serve multiple tumour type patients through its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) patient evidence submissions, educational events, advocacy initiatives, and patient programming, to ultimately reduce the burden of cancer in Canada.
Addendum
- AYA Can
- BC Lung Foundation
- Brain Tumour Foundation
- Canadian Breast Cancer Network
- Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
- Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders
- Cholangio -Hepatocellular Carcinoma Canada
- Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec
- Craigs Cause Pancreatic Cancer Society
- Genomic Focus
- GI Cancers Alliance
- GIST Sarcoma Life Raft Group Canada
- HPV Global Action
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada
- Lung Cancer Canada
- Myeloma Canada
- My Gut Feeling – Stomach Cancer Foundation of Canada
- Pancreatic Cancer Canada
- Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada
- Raymond Foundation
- Rethink Breast Cancer
- Save Your Skin Foundation
- The Cancer Collaborative
SOURCE Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN)
For media enquiries, please contact CCRAN's Communications Manager, Mide Coker at [email protected]
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