Keenan Research Centre
Scientist Profiles
Nancy N. Baxter
MD, University of Toronto; PhD (clinical epidemiology), University of Toronto; FRCSC (general surgery), Royal College of Colorectal Surgeons of Canada; FACRS (colorectal surgery), Association of Colorectal Surgeons
Affiliations
Scientist in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Staff Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital
Adjunct Scientist, Cancer Theme Group, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
Clinical Specialty
Colorectal surgery
Research Interests
Long-term survivorship of young cancer patients including late effects, effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening, quality of surgical care, treatment and outcomes of adolescents with cancer
Research Activities
I am using the power of large population-based data sources to evaluate the long-term consequences of cancer care for young adults who have survived a previous cancer diagnosis. Our current “Young Adult Survivors of Cancer Study”, funded jointly by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and an Early Researchers Award (Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation) moves beyond descriptive studies. We have investigated follow-up care, preventative care maneuvers including screening for hypercholesterolemia, cervical, breast and colorectal cancer, influenza shots and general health examinations, hospitalizations, and patterns of diagnostic imaging among young cancer survivors. Through current funding and in collaboration with scientists at the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), cancer-registry data, administrative data, and primary data collection, we are completing the most comprehensive evaluation of survivorship ever conducted in this group of patients.
As an extension of Young Adult Survivors of Cancer Study, we will be investigating the Management and Health Outcomes of Adolescents who develop Cancer through a chart abstraction study. Through collaboration with researchers at the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, we will investigate patterns of cancer treatment and survival among adolescents with cancer in Ontario.
I am also interested in cancer screening; recently, I used Ontario data sources to evaluate the effectiveness of colonoscopy for the prevention of colorectal cancer mortality in the population using case-control methodology. This work, funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has produced exciting findings: while colonoscopy appears highly effective for the prevention of cancer death from left sided colorectal cancers, the effectiveness appears to be greatly reduced for right sided cancers. I plan further studies using data available at ICES supplemented by primary chart abstraction to understand this dramatic finding. We are now performing a case control study comparing patients who had a "missed" cancer at colonoscopy to those who had cancer detected at colonoscopy, work funded through the American College of Gastroenterology.
Selected Research
Other Activities
- Chair of the quality and safety committee of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery
- Editorial board of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum
- Editorial board of the Colorectal Disease Group of the Cochrane Collaboration
- Member of research committees of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the American College of Surgeons
Educational Activities
I have a Full School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Member and have an appointment with the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto (IHPME). I am able to supervise students at the master's level. IHPME profile
Students interested in pursuing a Masters or PhD level thesis in clinical epidemiology are encouraged to contact me. Other research inquiries can be directed to my research coordinator, Corinne Daly (dalyco@smh.ca).
Contact
Phone: 416-864-5168
Fax: 416-360-0637
E-mail: BaxterN@smh.ca
