Tumour profiling offers an innovative and effective way of treating cancer writes Meera Murugesan
CANCER is the one diagnosis that strikes fear in everyone.
And finding the right treatment, for the right patient, at the right time, is crucial to extend survival rates because time is of the essence.
However, in the current standard of care, cancer patients commonly undergo various rounds of treatment based on their response to therapy. If the first line of treatment fails, their oncologist moves on to the next line of treatment and the pattern repeats itself until the patients responds to the prescribed treatment.
Whilst this approach works for some patients, it may not for others. Time may also be running out for these patients.
When it comes to treating cancer, there is no “one size fits all” approach but tumour profiling and precision medicine offer a smarter way to treat this deadly disease.
MAKING IT PERSONAL
“The future of cancer treatment steers towards a more personalised and tailor-made therapy. Tumour profiling and precision medicine offer a complementary win-win support to the current standard of care. With tumour profiling, oncologists can identify various anti-cancer-therapies that may not have been readily considered to give patients more treatment options with a higher probability of success,” says Dr Klaus Schuster, medical director international of Caris Life Sciences.
The biotechnology company’s Caris Molecular Intelligence (CMI) system is the first of its kind tumour profiling service that uses multiple tumour profiling technologies to decode many types of cancer.
Profiling a tumour not only improves clinical outcomes, but it can also optimise resource allocation, avoid unnecessary side effects and unnecessary toxicity adds Dr Schuster.
Also known as molecular profiling, tumour profiling is a form of testing that categorises tumours based on its genetic make-up to help diagnose and treat cancer with precision medicine.
From a (tissue-based) biopsy from the patient’s tumour, tumour profiling examines the DNA of the cancer cells, looking for biomarkers and genetic alterations that have been acquired by these cells,” says Dr Kua Voon Fong, a consultant clinical oncologist.
The results derived from tumour profiling give oncologists a significant amount of predictive, prognostic and therapeutic information early in the patient’s cancer diagnosis.
This is vital because the first course of treatment is often the most important in controlling, and perhaps curing, the cancer.
While cancer treatments have significantly advanced over the years, current cancer care options are still failing too many patients says Dr Murtaza Qasuri, Mundipharma’s South East Asia medical head and medical director of Singapore and Malaysia.
With the availability of CMI, oncologists can benefit from tumour profiling to identify and recommend better personalised treatments that specifically target the patient’s cancer.
“We believe this is a game-changer for oncology in Malaysia. With better treatment outcomes, we are able to allow patients to have more quality time with their loved ones,” he says.
THE WAY FORWARD
SINCE 2008, more than two million tests have been completed with around 160,000 patients globally benefiting from Caris Molecular Intelligence (CMI).
Positive cases have also been recorded in Malaysia, where CMI has added value to the management of treatment for cancer patients.
In the first case study, a female patient was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in 2007. She underwent two rounds of treatment rendering her cancer into remission. Unfortunately, her cancer recurred in 2017.
To help the patient better understand her treatment options, she was briefed on the concept of precision medicine and the benefits of tumour profiling by her oncologist.
The patient agreed to tumour profiling and subsequently, her CMI report proposed medications with perceived benefits. The patient completed her treatment which resulted in a noticeably shrunk tumour. During a recent follow-up in March last year, the patient reported that she was doing well, with improved quality of life.
In the second case, a 64-year old female patient was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in 2015. Despite treatment, the disease progressed and a new lesion was found in 2016. Following another round of unsuccessful treatment, the patient was introduced to precision medicine and tumour profiling. Based on her CMI profiling results, the patient underwent the recommended treatment.
In 2017, the patient reported that her health had improved.
SEEKING TREATMENT
THOSE who can benefit from tumour profiling include:
Patients with advanced cancer.
Patients with rare or aggressive cancer where no standard of care is defined.
Patients looking for possible multiple treatment options.
Cancer patients with multiple treatment options after first line failure.
Patients who have run out of standard treatment options.
CANCER FACTS
*Around 100,000 Malaysians are diagnosed with cancer each year.
*One in four Malaysians will get cancer by age 75.
*Cancer is the fourth most common cause of death in Malaysia.
*Around 37,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
*Common cancers among Malaysians include lung, trachea and bronchus, breast, colorectal, nasopharynx, prostate, brain and nervous systems, stomach, liver, cervix, ovary, corpus uteri, thyroid, pancreas, leukaemia and lymphoma.
Source: Ministry of Health