Clinical Research Directory

Assessing the Utility of Plasma ctHPVDNA for Anal Cancer Screening

The study is to test a liquid biopsy assay for screening and classifying anal dysplasia from blood.

Artesunate Suppositories for the Treatment of HIV-negative Patients With Intra-anal HSIL

This is a phase II double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of Artesunate suppositories for the treatment of HIV-negative men and women who have anal high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (anal HSIL)

Screening for Anal Cancer in Women With High-grade Vulvar Dysplasia or Vulvar Cancer.

Almost half of all women will develop an HPV infection in their lifetime. While most infections are naturally asymptomatic or cleared by the immune system, some persist and can lead to the development of cervical, vulvar, or anal lesions and eventually cancer. Screening regimens for these lesions are currently only in place for the cervix through regular Pap tests. These Pap tests usually involve an examination of the vulva -however, no screening procedures exist for anal cancer for women. Several studies have suggested that women with existing gynecological lesions are more likely to develop anal lesions and anal cancer. Here the investigators propose a multi-center study which seeks to screen for and treat anal cancer in women over the age of 40 with vulvar lesions and a stable immune system. The investigators will achieve this through performing anal Pap smears on eligible women and conducting High Resolution Anoscopy (HRA) and appropriate treatment procedures on those with abnormal anal cells. With enough evidence, there may be an indication to establish regular anal cancer screening measures in this potentially underserved population. Hypothesis: The investigators hypothesize that at least 40% of women with vulvar cancer or VIN2/3 will have abnormal anal cytology. 35% of the population will be hrHPV DNA positive and 11% will additionally have AIN2/3. This prospective study may lay the groundwork for routine anal screening regimens in Ontario and help shift health policy to treat this population.

Evaluating Gardasil HPV Vaccine Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses in People With and Without HIV

This is a phase 2, open-label study to assess the immunogenicity of the 9-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) recombinant vaccine (Gardasil9) in people born male with current or past exposure to androgen blockers or estrogen (BM-EABE). Investigators will enroll BM-EABE with HIV and HIV negative controls (BM-EABE or men who have sex with a person with a penis (MSPP)) and administer Gardasil9 at timepoints Day 0, Month 2, and Month 6. The immune response to the vaccine will be analyzed at Month 7 (1 month following the final vaccine dose).