Dr.
Janice S. Kwon
M.D., F.R.C.S.C., M.P.H.
Professor
Division of Gynaecologic Oncology
Biography
Dr. Janice Kwon is a Gynecologic Oncologist, Vice Head and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UBC. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Queen’s University and fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Toronto. She holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Harvard, and post-doctorate from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She serves as Chair of the Priority and Evaluations Committee at BC Cancer, the Research & Outcomes Evaluation Committee for the BC Cancer Surgery Network, and the National BRCA Collaborative. Her expertise is in hereditary cancer syndromes and conducting cost-effectiveness analyses of testing criteria and risk-reducing interventions. She currently holds a Health Professional Investigator Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
Teaching
Undergraduate, postgraduate, and postgraduate trainees at UBC (former Program Director for Gynecologic Oncology), and the Family Practice Oncology Network.
Research Interests/Skills
Endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, hereditary cancer syndromes including BRCA and Lynch Syndrome
Publications
Jegatheeswaran K, Cormier B, Dube S, Gottlieb WH, Helpman L, Kwon JS, Lau S, Mah S, May T, Saab D, McNeill M, Plante M, Renaud MC, Shamiya S, Vicus D, Parra-Herran C, Feigenberg T. “Evaluating the diagnostic performance of preoperative endometrial biopsies in patients diagnosed with high grade endometrial cancer: A study of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (GOC Community of Practice). Gynecol Oncol 2020 Jul 18;S0090-8258(20)32336-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2020.06.510. PMID: 32694064
Lee PWC, Bedard AC, Samimi S, Beard VK, Hong Q, Bedard JEJ, Gilks CB, Schaeffer DF, Wolber R, Kwon JS, Lim HJ, Sun S, Schrader KA. “Evaluating the impact of universal Lynch syndrome screening in a publicly-funded healthcare system”. Cancer Medicine 2020 Jul 23. doi: 10.1002/cam4.3279. PMID: 32700475
Butler J, Finley C, Norell CH, Harrison S, Bryant H, Achiam MP, Altman AD, Baxter N, Bentley J, Cohen PA, Chaudry MA, Dixon E, Farrell R, Fegan S, Hashmi S, Hogdall C, Jenkins JT, Kwon J, Mala T, McNally O, Merrett N, Nelson G, Nordin A, Par, J, Porter G, Reynolds J, Schnack T, Schieman C, Spigelman A, Svendsen LB, Sykes P, Thomas R. “New approaches to cancer care in a COVID-19 world”. Lancet Oncol 2020 Jul;21(7):e339-3340. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30340-5. PMID: 32615112
Norell CH, Butler J, Farrell R, Altman A, Bentley J, Cabasag CJ, Cohen PA, Fegan S, Fung-Kee-Fung M, Gourley C, Hacker N, Hanna L, Hoegdall C, Kristensen G, Kwon J, McNally O, Nelson G, Nordin A, O’Donnell D, Schnack T, Sykes P, Zotow E, Harrison S. “Exploring international differences in ovarian cancer treatment: A comparison of clinical practice guidelines and patterns of care.” Int J Gynecol Cancer 2020 Aug 11:ijgc-2020-001403.doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2020-001403. PMID: 32784203
Kim SR, Pina A, Albert A, McAlpine JN, Wolber R, Gilks B, Carey MS, Kwon JS. “Mismatch repair deficiency and prognostic significance in patients with low-risk endometrioid endometrial cancers”. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2020 Jun;30(6):783-788. Doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2019-000910. Epub 2020 Apr 30. PMID: 32354793
Hanley, GE, Kwon JS, McAlpine JN, Finlayson SJ, Huntsman DG, Miller DM. “Examining indicators of early menopause following opportunistic salpingectomy: A cohort study from British Columbia”. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2020. 2020 Feb 15. pii: S0002-9378(20)30143-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.02.005. PMID: 32067967
Scott SA, Llaurado Fernandez M, Kim H, Elit L, Nourmoussavi M, Glaze S, Roberts L, Offman SL, Rahimi K, Lytwyn A, Sur M, Gilks CB, Matheson K, Köbel M, Dawson A, Tinker AV, Kwon JS, Hoskins P, Santos JL, Cheung A, Provencher D, Carey MS; Canadian LGSC Community of Practice (GOC-CoP). “Low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC): A Canadian multicenter review of practice patterns and patient outcomes”. Gynecol Oncol. 2020 Jan 27. pii: S0090-8258(20)30063-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2020.01.021. PMID:32001076
Cabasag CJ, Butler J, Arnold M, Rutherford M, Bardot A, Ferlay J, Morgan E, Moller B, Gavin A, Norell CH, Harrison S, Saint-Jacques N, Eden M, Rous B, Nordin A, Hanna L, Kwon J, Cohen PA, Altman AD, Shack L, Kozie S, Engholm G, De P, Sykes P, Porter G, Ferguson S, Walsh P, Trevithick R, O’Connell D, Bray F, Soerjomataram I. “Exploring variations in ovarian cancer survival by age and stage (ICBP SurvMark-2): A population-based study.” Gynecol Oncol 2020 Jan 28. pii: S0090-8258(19)31877-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2019.12.047. PMID: 32005583
Kwon JS. Preoperative CA-125 in low-grade endometrial cancer: Risk stratification and implications for treatment. J Gynecol Oncol 2019;30(5):e92. doi: 10.3802/jgo.2019.30.e92 PMCID: PMC6658603 PMID: 31328464
Reijnen C, Kusters-Vandevelde H, Prinsen CF, Massuger LF, Snijders MP, Kommoss S, Brucker SY, Kwon JS, McAlpine JN, Pijnenborg JM. “Mismatch repair deficiency as a predictive marker for response to adjuvant radiotherapy in endometrial cancer”. Gynecol Oncol 2019 154(1):124-130 doi: 0.1016/j.ygyno.2019.03.097. PMID: 31103324
de Lange NM, Ezendam NPM, Vandenput I, Kwon JS, Mirchandani D, Amant F, van der Putten LJM, Pijnenborg, JMA. “Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery for advanced stage endometrial cancer”. Curr Oncol 2019;26(2):e226-e232. doi: 10.3747/co.26.4655. Epub 2019 Apr 1. PMID: 31043831
Kwon JS, Tinker A, Hanley GE, Pansegrau G, Sun S, Carey MS, Schrader KA. “BRCA mutation testing for first-degree relatives of women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer”. Gynecol Oncol 2019;152:459-464. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2018.10.014. PMID:30876489
Kim SR, Pina A, Albert A, McAlpine J, Wolber R, Gilks CB, Kwon JS. “Does MMR status in endometrial cancer influence response to adjuvant therapy?” Gynecol Oncol 2018;151:76-81. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2018.08.020. Epub 2018 Aug 29. PMID: 30172479
Pina A, McAlpine J, Gilks CB, Wolber R, Kwon JS. “Endometrial cancer presentation and outcomes based on mismatch repair protein expression from a population-based study”. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2018;28(8):1624-1630. Doi:10.1097/IGC.0000000000001343. PMID: 30095707
Hanley GE, Kwon JS, Finlayson SJ, Huntsman DG, Miller DM, McAlpine JN. “Extending the safety evidence for opportunistic salpingectomy in prevention of ovarian cancer: A cohort study from British Columbia, Canada”. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2018;219(2):172e1-172.e8.doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.05.019. PMID: 29852159
Kim SR, van der Zanden C, Ikiz H, Kuzeljevic B, Havelock J, Kwon JS. “Fertility-sparing management using progestins for young women with endometrial cancer from a population-based study”. J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2018;40(3):328-333. doi: 10.1016/j.jogc.2017.06.037. Epub 2017 Oct 3.PMID: 28986185
Qu XM, Velker VM, Leung E, Kwon JS, Elshaikh MA, Kong I, Logie NA, Mendez LC, van der Putten LJ, Donovan EK, Munkarah AR, Wiebe EM, Parra-Herran C, Warner A, Louie AV, D’Souza DP. “The role of adjuvant therapy in stage IA serous and clear cell uterine cancer: A multi-institutional pooled analysis”. Gynecol Oncol 2018; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygyno.2018.03.002
Kwon JS. “Cost-effectiveness of ovarian cancer prevention strategies”. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2017;60(4):780-788. DOI: 10.1097/GRF0000000000000317. PMID:28957951
Grants
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research: Health Professional Investigator award. “Costs and benefits of tumour testing in ovarian cancer to optimize cancer treatment and prevention”. $270,000/2019-2022
CIHR. “Personalizing prevention strategies in endometrial cancer”. (PI: Aline Talhouk). $100,000/2019-2020.
UBC Division of Gynecologic Oncology. “Survivorship pathway after risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for premenopausal women” (Primary supervisor for Ji-Hyun Jang). $20,000/2019-2021
UBC Division of Gynecologic Oncology. “Gynecologic prevention for women with Lynch Syndrome” (PI: Lesa Dawson). $20,000/2019-2021.
VGH Foundation/Carrerresi Foundation. “Predictors of response to chemotherapy in advanced endometrial cancer”. $5,000/2019-2021.
CIHR Project Grant. “The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of opportunistic salpingectomy for ovarian cancer prevention”. $302,176/2019-2023. (PI: Gillian Hanley)
UBC Division of Gynecologic Oncology. “Costs of benefits of tumor testing in ovarian cancer to optimize genetic testing and treatment”. $20,000/2018-2020.
BC Cancer Agency Clinical Innovations Fund. “GENOVA: Genetic testing of ENdometrial and OVArian cancer”. $250,000/2018-2021. (co-PI Anna Tinker)
CIHR Operating Grant. “Randomized trial comparing radical hysterectomy with simple hysterectomy in early cervical cancer”. $2,763,464/2011-2019. (PI: Marie Plante)
Projects
Awards
Teaching:
2017 CREOG National Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education
2019 Mike Turko Surgical Teaching Award (selected by the residents in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UBC)
Research:
2020 UBC Faculty of Medicine Excellence in Clinical or Applied Research
2017 “People’s choice award” for best research paper, Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada, Annual General Meeting, Ottawa, ON
2017 First prize, oral presentation, Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada, Annual General Meeting, Ottawa, ON
2017 Second prize, oral presentation, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting, San Diego, CA