According to a story from bioengineer.org, a group of scientists working at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) have managed to develop a computational model that could potentially make highly personalized treatment regimens for cancer the norm. The program is able to create a match between a specific individual tumor and the combination of drugs and therapies that are most likely to eliminate them.
About the Study
The research included collaboration from 17 different research centers from across the planet. The innovative technology was first tested on a rare type of cancer tumor called gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). These tumors appear in the digestive system and are usually lethal once they begin to metastasize (spread). The team analyzed samples from a total of 212 patients, and from this were able to reveal an entirely new drug pathway. This new class of drug targets are known as master regulators, and the team then began to make calculations in order to decide which drug would act on them the most effectively.
The algorithm predicted that a drug called Entinostat would be the best option for nearly half of the patients. In a mouse model, the drug was able to cause a dramatic shrinkage of the tumors. These results led to an Investigational New Drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A clinical trial to test the drug on human patients is currently under way.
Treating Rare Cancers
The name of the new framework is called OncoTreat, and it is currently the only testing module that is able to predict, on a patient by patient basis, which drugs would be most effective for that patient’s cancer. OncoTreat is effective for many types of rare and dangerous cancers, including glioblastoma, GEP-NETs, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and many more.
OncoTreat could offer a real chance at effective treatment for patients that otherwise are dealing with aggressive cancer cases that are failing to respond to conventional treatments such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted inhibitors, or immunotherapies. OncoTreat could serve as a last resort that could be tailored to the specific characteristics of the tumor that the patient is desperately seeking to eliminate.
