Canadian Prospective Cohort Study to Understand Progression in MS (CanProCo) - Phase 1.5

Start Term
End Term
Funding Amount
$3,999,995
Affiliation(s)
Centre de Recherche du CHUM
St. Michael’s Hospital
University of Alberta
University of British Columbia
University of Calgary
Geographic Region(s) / Province(s)
Alberta
British Columbia
Ontario
Quebec
Researcher(s)
Dr. Penny Smyth
Dr. Alexandre Prat
Dr. Alice Schabas
Dr. Jiwon Oh
Dr. Larry Lynd
Dr. Sarah A. Morrow
Dr. Shannon Kolind
Research Priorities
Progressive MS
Impact Goal(s)
Advance Treatment and Care
Enhance Well-being
Understand and Halt Disease Progression

Summary: 

  • Launched in 2018, CanProCo is a national cohort study designed to better understand how various factors (e.g., biological, clinical, environmental, or health systems) interact to influence progression in MS. 
  • The first phase of CanProCo contributed to many breakthroughs, particularly in our understanding of disability accumulation at the earliest stages of disease and the health economic impact of MS in Canada.
  • The next phase of the study – CanProCo 1.5 – will follow participants for an additional three years and establish a data sharing platform to enable collaboration among MS researchers around the world to speed up discoveries that could improve treatment, care, and quality of life of people living with MS.

 


Project Description: 

The CANadian PROspective COhort Study to Understand Progression in MS (CanProCo) was initially launched in 2018 to better understand progression in MS. Using scientific methods across different fields of study, including epidemiology, health outcomes, health economics, neuroimaging, and neuroimmunology, the goal of CanProCo was to identify factors that initiate and influence MS progression – starting from the underlying biology of the disease extending all the way to how clinical, environmental, and health systems factors interact to impact progression. 

The first phase of CanProCo followed a diverse cohort of nearly 1,000 people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds representing different stages of MS. An initial assessment of the cohort revealed that physical and neurological disability were seen among people with MS even at the earliest stages of disease. CanProCo findings also contributed to a groundbreaking study on the socio-economic impact of MS in Canada, estimated to be $3.4 billion annually, due to health care costs and productivity loss among people with MS. Furthermore, the CanProCo team has developed advanced imaging techniques to detect damage before symptoms are experienced. These studies have the potential to identify biomarkers of progression in the brain and spinal cord that could be used clinically to detect and predict the rate of disease progression and ultimately inform treatment and care.

The next phase of the study – CanProCo 1.5 – will continue to follow participants and extend data collection for an additional three years across five research sites in Canada. The CanProCo team will also establish an open access data sharing platform to promote knowledge exchange and discovery. This platform will bring the findings from CanProCo to the greater international MS research community and collectively accelerate our understanding of progression in MS.

Potential Impact: CanProCo is one of the largest prospective cohorts around the world specifically designed to provide novel and important insights into factors underlying progression in MS. The knowledge gained from this endeavor will lay the foundation for better treatment and care strategies to prevent progression and disability, which will ultimately result in better health outcomes and quality of life for people living with MS.

Project Status: In progress