Odette Cancer Program

Administrative Assistant: Archanaa Raveendran
Phone: 416-480-5248
Email: archanaa.raveendran@sunnybrook.ca

Education:

• B.Sc., 2006, chemistry, York University, Canada
• MD, 2009, McMaster University, Canada
• FRCPC, 2013, internal medicine, McMaster University, Canada
• FRCPC, 2015, medical oncology, University of Toronto, Canada
• M.Sc., 2018, clinical epidemiology, U of T, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Associate scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Odette Cancer Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Medical oncologist, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Assistant professor, department of medicine, U of T
• Co-director, breast medical oncology fellowship program, Sunnybrook

Research Foci:

• Biomarkers in breast and gynecologic cancers
• Brain metastases
• Clinical trials
• Repurposing noncancer drugs as anticancer agents

Research Summary:

Dr. Jerzak’s goal as a medical oncologist with training in clinical epidemiology is to advance translational research in breast and gynecologic oncology. Specifically, she is engaged in clinical trials that aim to improve survival of women with these cancers. To further this goal, she is participating in the Canadian Cancer Trials Group as a member of the Breast Disease Site Group, and as a member of the Investigational New Drug Committee.

Her research projects include the following:

1. Developing biomarkers of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy among women with breast cancer.

2. Developing biomarkers of response to systemic therapy among women with gynecologic cancers. These involve novel, genomic-based and 3-D tumour organoid assays.

3. Routine MRI screening versus symptom-directed screening for brain metastases among patients with triple negative or HER2+ metastatic breast cancer: a randomized Phase 2 pilot study.

4. Developing a novel class of anticancer agents: repurposing dronedarone, a class III anti-arrhythmic agent, in breast and other cancers.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

1. Jerzak KJ, Duska L, MacKay HJ. Endocrine therapy in endometrial cancer: An old dog with new tricks. Gynecol Oncol. 2019 Apr;153(1):175–83.
2. Eilliott MJ*, Jerzak KJ*, Cockburn JG, Gwynne W, Hassell J, Bane A, Silvester J, Thu K, Mak TW, Cescon D. (2018) The antiarrhythmic drug, dronedarone, demonstrates cytotoxic effects in breast cancer independent of thyroid hormone receptor alpha 1 (THRα1) antagonism. Sci Rep. 2018 Nov 8;(1):16562. (*co-first author)
3. Jerzak KJ, Cockburn JG, Dhesy-Thind SK, Pond G, Pritchard KI, Nofech-Mozes, Sun P, Narod SA, Bane A. Thyroid hormone receptor beta-1 expression in early breast cancer: a validation study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2018 Oct;171(3):709–17.
4. Ozturk Topcu T, Jerzak KJ, Warner E. RE: Long-term safety of pregnancy following breast cancer according to estrogen receptor status. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2018 Aug 1;110(8):918.
5. Jerzak KJ, Berry S, Ko YJ, Earle C, Chan KK. Cetuximab plus irinotecan versus panitumumab in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer in Ontario, Canada. Int J Cancer. 2017 May 1;140(9):2162–7.