Blood Will Tell: OncoDxRx Scientists Find Potentially Effective Drugs to Non-Responders of Precision Therapy
Some patients who receive targeted drugs or immunotherapy experience significant benefit in terms of tumor shrinkage and longer survival as responders — but many do not (i.e., non-responders). A new study suggests that measuring overactive genes in the blood could help doctors determine which drugs are most likely to benefit individual non-responders.
- (1888PressRelease) October 12, 2024 - The greatest hurdle facing cancer precision therapy today is understanding why the treatment works for only a subset of the people who receive it — between 20% and 40%, depending on the type of cancer and the particular drug. Biomarker testing that can predict a patient’s response to these drugs have been available, but currently nothing can inform what drugs a non-responder will respond to.
A new study published in the journal Onco provides evidence that the blood can be an important source of information regarding cancer drug efficacies (https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7523/4/3/12). The OncoDxRx team found that blood contains clues about which drugs are effective and which aren’t. Examining these clues could help a doctor with more treatment options when it’s time to try a different therapy.
It’s Personal
In this study, OncoDxRx researchers analyzed changes in the blood of 30 lung cancer patients with refractory or relapse disease. In particular, the researchers looked for patterns of “overactive gene signatures” of each individual patient. The study authors found that the unique signature of a particular patient was a powerful predictor of drug efficacy.
“The idea is that there is a positive relationship between the specific gene expression signature of the patient and the drugs that the patient is responding,” says OncoDxRx. “So if a patient is unresponsive to targeted therapy or has exhausted immunotherapy or combination treatments, the PGA (Patient-derived Gene expression-informed Anticancer drug efficacy) test result will provide additional drugs they are likely to respond. This will significantly expand the patient’s options.”
OncoDxRx suggests that this one-of-a-kind technology, when factored in along with digital analytics, could provide doctors with a way to determine early on which cancer drugs are working for a particular patient.
“The fact that we can gain actionable information about a patient’s response to current existing 700+ cancer drugs with just a simple blood draw is truly revolutionary that can inform treatment decisions,” the company says. “We’re not quite there yet in terms of the blood telling us everything we need to know, but this study is a good reminder that the blood is an important area in which to look.”
Tumor and Its Microenvironment
Tumor cells are sneaky and can sabotage the natural immune defense mechanism by immunoediting and immunosuppression, shutting them down prematurely. But how could OncoDxRx researchers tell drug response of tumor cells, just by analyzing blood? The team incorporates crucial biomarkers from tumor itself as well as tumor microenvironment. Indeed, the PGA test result was a good predictor of a patient’s ultimate outcome.
Mission Possible
The Onco paper is the 16th major publication to come out of OncoDxRx.
“This study is really emblematic of what OncoDxRx envisioned for precision oncology,” says the company. “It shows what can be accomplished when a company pools its resources with intellectual excellence and technical knowhow to answer unmet clinical needs.”
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