Precision Medicine in Oncology

Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a strong prognosticator of cancer outcomes, and recent research found that patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) are more likely to achieve MRD on daratumumab than on a standard of care alone.

Andrew Pecora, MD, FACP, CPE, recently visited Evidence-Based OncologyTM to discuss the progress of COTA’s, a company created in 2011 to develop technology that Pecora said is poised to transform cancer care delivery by helping oncologists and other specialists make decisions that will yield the best outcomes in the most cost-effective way, all at the point of care.

Molecular minimal residual disease (MRD) testing during the first 4 days of induction therapy does not differentiate responders and nonresponders and should not be used in predicting clinical response for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to the results from a recent study.

Foundation Medicine announced that it has won a nationwide contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Precision Oncology Program. The contract covers all of Foundation Medicine’s tests.

Abstracts presented at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition looked at how monitoring minimal residual disease can help predict outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

A recent review outlined a vast array of biomarkers that may have clinical implications on the treatment and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC).

The biggest barrier to molecular profile testing right now is a financial one, explained Elizabeth Griffiths, MD, associate professor of oncology, department of medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

A study of 3 assessments for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab are examined.

The first and only test authorized by the FDA to detect and monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) in multiple myeloma (MM) and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has received coverage for Medicare patients.

Jeff Sharman, MD, medical oncologist, Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center; medical director, The US Oncology Network, explains how personalized medicine has changed the way physicians think about treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Minimal residual disease in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can be a powerful predictor of outcomes and a useful guide of treatment strategies.

There is a lack in correlation between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and bone marrow for minimal residual disease (MRD) by next generation sequencing (NGS) using immunoglobulin genes in patients with multiple myeloma, according to results of a recent study.

Elizabeth Griffiths, MD, associate professor of oncology, department of medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center discusses which biomarkers and mutational events help determine if a patient would likely benefit from a traditional therapy or if they are more suitable for a clinical trial or upfront allogeneic transplantation.

A phase 2 trial demonstrated that the regimen of rituximab, bortezomib, bendamustine, and dexamethasone is a viable treatment option for older patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and highlighted the usefulness of using minimal residual disease (MRD) to guide early and late clinical decisions.

In the past year, there have been tremendous advancements in precision medicine, and the big upfront investments are starting to come to fruition, according to panelists at the 37th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, held January 7-10 in San Francisco, California.

There has been dramatic growth in the number of labels relevant to precision medicine, but there remains a gap in the number available and what health plans actually cover, explained Kibum Kim, PhD, MSc, research assistant professor, University of Utah.

A test that uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been approved to detect and monitor minimal residual disease in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

In June, Syapse—a company that works with health systems to implement precision medicine across its organizations—took the next step in leading the shift toward precision medicine by launching the Syapse Precision Medicine Council.

We need to bring together our real-world data and our reimbursement systems to recognize the fact that a lot of what could be gained by precision medicine is going to be based on a lot of research, explained Peter Paul Yu, MD, FASCO, FACP, physician-in-chief, Hartford HealthCare Cancer Center.

There are small subgroups within each tumor type and within each molecular type, and someday, we might be able to actually pair the 2 to give patients a little bit more personalization and precision to their treatments, said Victoria Villaflor, MD, associate professor of Medicine, hematology and oncology.

During this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, we sat down with 4 physicians to discuss their experiences with precision medicine, how it's changing oncology care, challenges associated with the shift, and where they think the future of precision medicine is headed.

In order for precision oncology to be fruitful and to be effective, we need interoperability and we need to be able to share patient data, said James Lin Chen, MD, Ohio State University, and chair of ASCO CancerLinQ Oncology Informatics Task Force.

After a decade of analyzing over 11,000 tumors from 33 types of cancer, the collaboration between the National Cancer Institute and National Human Genome Research Institute has launched the Pan-Cancer Atlas, providing a comprehensive understanding of 3 focus areas: cell-of-origin patterns, oncogenic processes, and signaling pathways.

Precision Health AI has launched Eureka Health, a platform that leverages electronic medical record data to provide artificial intelligence through more than 60 pretrained and learning-enhanced modules designed specifically for oncology.

Recent study results showed larotrectinib was effective in patients with tropomyosin receptor kinase fusion-positive cancer, regardless of the age of the patient or the tumor type. In addition to implications for the treatment of genetic alterations across tumor types, these study results underscore the importance of molecular profiling of tumors, through which patients were identified for the studies, on ensuring precision medicine is used in practice while simultaneously providing a cost-effective tool.