personalized medicine

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    The Personalized Power of the “N-of-1” Approach

    With: Glenn Sabin

    Randomized, controlled clinical trials with a large N—number of participants—are the recognized “gold standard” of evidence-based medicine. Even so, the results of large-N trials can only reveal population averages, and are not predictive of any individual’s response to a given treatment. On the other hand, one can consider every patient with cancer as the sole participant in their own clinical trial with an Nof1, even if the trial is not… Read more »

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    SAGE Oncotest: Entering the Next Generation of Tailored Cancer Treatment

    With: Chris Apfel, MD, PhD, MBA

    For people with recurring or drug-resistant cancer, choosing the best-possible next treatment can pose a huge challenge. Our Curious Dr. George asks Chris Apfel, MD, PhD, MBA—Founder, CEO, and Board Chair of SageMedic Corp.—about his company’s solution for many of these patients. Curious Dr. George: Despite the application of curative surgical, radiation, and systemic treatments, cancer remains the “emperor of all maladies” with 600,000… Read more »

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    Protean BioDiagnostics: One Way to Access Full-Service Precision Oncology Testing

    With: Anthony M. Magliocco, MD

    The use of advanced molecular testing of various cancers over the last 10-15 years has driven development of the field of precision oncology. Now, many patients with a variety of cancer types can benefit from targeted therapies. However, accessing precision testing and treatment can be a major challenge. Our Curious Dr. George asks Anthony M. Magliocco, MD, Founder and CEO of Protean BioDiagnostics, how his company… Read more »

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    Alibrex: A New Blood Test to Reveal Whether a Cancer Treatment is Working

    With: Kevin Knopf, MD, MPH

    In cancer treatment, time is of the essence. Our Curious Dr. George asks Kevin B. Knopf, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer at Cadex Genomics, how his company’s new test, Alibrex, could rapidly reveal how well a given treatment is working for a given patient. Curious Dr. George: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved about 270 anti-cancer drugs. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network… Read more »

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    Common Sense Oncology: Moving Back Towards Outcomes that Matter

    With: Christopher M. Booth, MD, FRCPC

    There are many ways to measure how well a particular cancer treatment works. But how much do these outcomes reflect a patient’s actual wellbeing? Our Curious Dr. George asks Christopher M. Booth, MD, FRCPC, one of the founding leaders of the new international initiative “Common Sense Oncology” (CSO), how CSO is working to improve patient outcomes. Curious Dr. George: The practice of clinical oncology… Read more »

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    PARIS Test Uses Lab-Grown Mini-Tumors to Find a Patient’s Best Treatment

    With: Carla Grandori, MD, PhD

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hundreds of drugs for the treatment of cancer. However, some approved drugs are more effective for certain patients than others. Our curious Dr. George asks Carla Grandori, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of SEngine Precision Medicine, about her company’s test to detect which drugs are likely to be most effective for a given patient’s solid tumor.… Read more »

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    A New Biomarker to Optimize Immunotherapy for People with Cancer

    With: Scott Tomlins, MD, PhD

    Immunotherapy—a type of treatment that harnesses a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer—has been a “game changer” for many patients. It can be difficult, however, to predict whether or not a given person would benefit from immunotherapy, especially when it comes to drugs that target the immune system molecules PD-1 and PD-L1. Our Curious Dr. George asks Scott Tomlins, MD, PhD, Co-founder and… Read more »

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    Learnings from Pilot Study: Creating Treatment Templates to Serve More Glioblastoma Patients

    With: Adrienne Nugent, PhD

    A recent pilot study between Cancer Commons and the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research & Information is identifying patterns that are being translated into treatment templates to better serve a larger group of GBM patients. Our Curious Dr. George asks Cancer Commons Scientist Adrienne Nugent, PhD, to discuss key factors that point to the best courses of action a patient might take, and about the clinical… Read more »

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    Using Live Cells from Patients to Find the Right Cancer Drug

    With: Clifford A. Reid, PhD

    Today, many cancer patients benefit from targeted drugs that are matched to the distinct genetic mutations found in their tumors. However, especially in late-stage cancer, this “precision oncology” strategy has not proven to be as transformative as people once hoped. Here, Curious Dr. George asks Clifford A. Reid, PhD, CEO of Travera, how his company is addressing this problem. Curious Dr. George: The U.S.… Read more »

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    Using AI and Drug Testing to Design Personalized Cancer Drug Combos

    With: Noah Berlow, PhDDiana Azzam, PhD

    Advanced cancer treatment often involves combining multiple drugs. But with a huge number of possible combinations, it is difficult to know which mix might work best for each patient. Here, our Curious Dr. George asks two leaders to describe how the company First Ascent Biomedical is addressing this challenge. Curious Dr. George: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved many thousands of… Read more »