Jun 2 2015
Two new studies conducted by Intermountain Healthcare’s Intermountain Precision Genomics reveal that precision medicine can improve survival in advanced cancer patients – and do so without increasing costs. While the results affect only stage four cancer patients in the latter weeks of life, the improvement is pronounced and lends hope that further improvement can be realized going forward. The studies will be published in abstract form through the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
Intermountain Healthcare, an internationally recognized, integrated healthcare system spanning 22 hospitals and 185 physician clinics, is at the forefront of personalized cancer treatment through Intermountain Precision Genomics. Led by Lincoln D. Nadauld, MD, PhD, and Derrick S. Haslem, MD, Intermountain Precision Genomics in St. George, UT, is the only integrated healthcare system in the nation with the capability of testing and providing treatment for the greatest number of actionable gene mutation types, offering the most advanced next-generation sequencing available. In addition, Intermountain is typically able to gain access to limited distribution and specialty drugs for its patients.
Intermountain Precision Genomics’ expertise is enhanced by the fact that Intermountain Healthcare has the nation’s largest biorepository, started in 1975, which stores more than three million tissue samples used for the advancement of cancer and other research.
At Intermountain Precision Genomics’ in-house laboratory, experts analyze the DNA and genetic makeup of a cancer patient’s tumor, enabling detection of the individual genes with errors in a person’s cancer to determine treatment options. The testing is proprietary to Intermountain Healthcare but access to it is available to oncologists anywhere. The testing serves patients with stage four cancer who have failed a traditional treatment method.
Following are the two new studies from Intermountain Precision Genomics:
“Precision Medicine Improves Survival in Advanced Cancer Patients”– This study finds that “Progression free survival was 22.9 weeks for the treatment group and 12.0 weeks for the historical control group (p=0.002). Patients receiving precision cancer medicine compared to convention treatment patients had a hazard ratio of 0.47 (95% confidence interval of 0.26-0.71) when adjusting for age, gender, histological diagnosis and previous treatment lines.”
“Precision Medicine Improves Survival without Increasing Costs in Advanced Cancer Patients”– This study finds that “Precision cancer medicine appears to significantly improve survival for patients with advanced cancer when compared to control patients who received conventional chemotherapy. The additional survival is not associated with increased healthcare costs. While the results of this study warrant further investigation, this genomics-based approach appears to be a viable, and perhaps superior, option for patients with advanced or metastatic cancer.”
“These results are significant and encouraging,” said Dr. Nadauld, Medical Director of Intermountain Precision Genomics. “They underscore the value of precision medicine to patients today, offering increased survival without increasing costs.”
“The challenge now is to build on these results,” added Dr. Haslem, Director of Medical Oncology at Intermountain Precision Genomics. “The direction that these studies reinforce has enormous potential, if we can extend it further.”
Nearly 80% of the patients treated at Intermountain Precision Genomics have been connected to targeted drug therapies. No other healthcare system has had comparable success. Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which focuses on destroying rapidly dividing cells, targeted therapies identify other features that are more specific to cancer cells. These medications work in individual ways, but all interfere with the ability of the cancer cell to grow, divide, repair, and/or communicate with other cells.
Source: http://intermountainhealthcare.org/
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