Rare Tumor Clinic: The University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center Experience with a Precision Therapy Approach.

CONCLUSION: Identifying genomic and protein markers in patients with rare/ultrarare tumors was feasible. When therapies were matched, >50% of patients attained SD ≥6 months, PR, or CR. Further precision medicine clinical investigations focusing on rare and ultrarare tumors are urgently needed. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Although rare tumors are infrequent by definition, when all subtypes of rare cancers are combined, they account for approximately 25% of adult malignancies. However, patients with rare tumors may lack approved treatments and clinical trial access. We recently initiated a Rare Tumor Clinic that focused on a precision medicine strategy. Performing genomics and protein analyses was feasible amongst patients with rare cancers. Over 50% of patients attained SD ≥6 months, PR, or CR when they received matched therapy (genomically targeted and/or immunotherapy). Further studies investigating the efficacy of the precision therapy approach among rare tumors are warranted. PMID: 29038235 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The Oncologist - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Oncologist Source Type: research