The Gray Family Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma Research Resource is maintained through the collaborative effort of OVCARE and the British Columbia Cancer Agency. The OCCC Resource was established in the Fall of 2010 through a generous donation made by Douglas & Diana Gray of Vancouver.

The overarching goal of the OCCC Resource is to (i) serve as the world’s preeminent source of OCCC medical and scientific knowledge for the international ovarian cancer research community, and (ii) provide helpful information through various forms of media to patients and patient advocates, family caregivers, and international gynaecological cancer organizations.

At the scientific core of the OCCC Resource is a major 8-year, OCCC-dedicated research project, funding which was seeded by the Gray Family. This project is led by Dr. David Huntsman, along with an extensive team of BCCA cancer researchers and international scientific collaborators, who possess expertise in genetics and molecular biology, pathology, bioinformatics, gynaecologic oncology, and therapeutic drug development. It is anticipated that the OCCC Resource will play an instrumental role in transforming the treatment of OCCC from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a translational (“bench-to-bedside”) personalized medicine approach.This will be achieved through understanding OCCC at the genetic and molecular level, creation of validated OCCC biomarkers, development of OCCC targeted therapeutic treatments, and conducting clinical studies to test novel OCCC therapeutics.

The OCCC Resource also provided major funding to the Cheryl Brown Ovarian Cancer Outcomes Unit which commenced in Spring of 2011. This project is led by Dr. Ken Swenerton, a preeminent OVCARE gynaecologic oncologist and co-leader of the Cheryl Brown Outcomes Unit. In 2010, Dr. Swenerton and his OvCaRe research team used the current database to establish the curative potential of radiotherapy in early stage, non-serous epithelial ovarian cancers, including OCCC. Please visit the Cheryl Brown Outcomes Unit page for more information on this new initiative.