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Functional testing to characterize and stratify PI3K inhibitor responses in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
August 25, 2022

Functional testing to characterize and stratify PI3K inhibitor responses in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors (PI3Ki) are approved for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). While patients may show an initial response to these therapies, development of treatment intolerance or resistance remains clinical challenges. To overcome these, prediction of individual treatment responses based on actionable biomarkers is needed. Here, we characterized the activity and cellular effects of ten PI3Ki and investigated whether functional analyses can identify treatment vulnerabilities in PI3Ki-refractory/intolerant CLL and stratify responders to PI3Ki.

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Precision Medicine and Therapeutic Resistance Collection
June 28, 2022

Precision Medicine and Therapeutic Resistance Collection

Check out this great collection of Precision Medicine and Therapeutic Research curated by Cancer Discovery editors selected from the Journal. Some of these select original research articles are followed by their corresponding In the Spotlight commentaries, which serve to place them in the context of their field

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Functional Precision Medicine Provides Clinical Benefit in Advanced Aggressive Hematologic Cancers and Identifies Exceptional Responders
March 15, 2022

Functional Precision Medicine Provides Clinical Benefit in Advanced Aggressive Hematologic Cancers and Identifies Exceptional Responders

This February 2020 issue of Cancer Discovery features reports of two very important prospective clinical trials from SFPM members in Zurich, Vienna, Stockholm and Helsinki. Both studies demonstrate the feasibility and utility of functional precision medicine tools in the clinical oncology setting. A commentary by Tony Letai accompanies these articles.

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Implementing a Functional Precision Medicine Tumor Board for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
March 15, 2022

Implementing a Functional Precision Medicine Tumor Board for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

This February 2020 issue of Cancer Discovery features reports of two very important prospective clinical trials from SFPM members in Zurich, Vienna, Stockholm and Helsinki. Both studies demonstrate the feasibility and utility of functional precision medicine tools in the clinical oncology setting. A commentary by Tony Letai accompanies these articles.

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Functional Precision Medicine: Putting Drugs on Patient Cancer Cells and Seeing What Happens
March 15, 2022

Functional Precision Medicine: Putting Drugs on Patient Cancer Cells and Seeing What Happens

This February 2020 issue of Cancer Discovery features reports of two very important prospective clinical trials from SFPM members in Zurich, Vienna, Stockholm and Helsinki. Both studies demonstrate the feasibility and utility of functional precision medicine tools in the clinical oncology setting. A commentary by Tony Letai accompanies these articles.

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To Test Cancer Drugs, These Scientists Grew ‘Avatars’ of Tumors
March 8, 2022

To Test Cancer Drugs, These Scientists Grew ‘Avatars’ of Tumors

IN 2018, SfPM Member Alana Welm found herself in an exciting, yet burdensome, position. The University of Utah breast cancer research lab where she leads joint projects with her husband, Bryan Welm, had created lab-grown versions of real tumors isolated from living cancer patients. Each cancer had been translated into two kinds of biological models: xenografts, made by implanting tissue into mice, and organoids, miniature clumps of tissue grown in plastic dishes.

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Clinical Utility of Functional Precision Medicine in the Management of Recurrent/Relapsed Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma
November 1, 2021

Clinical Utility of Functional Precision Medicine in the Management of Recurrent/Relapsed Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma

The Azzam Lab at Florida International University collaborates with clinicians at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to guide therapeutic decisions for a 7-year old patient with metastatic refractory rhabdomyosarcoma using a personalized functional precision oncology approach. Their guided treatment plan led to longer progression-free survival than the regimen on which the patient had just experienced progression. This report is the first demonstration of the efficacy of functional precision medicine in guiding treatments in children.

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Functional drug susceptibility testing using single-cell mass predicts treatment outcome in patient-derived cancer neurosphere models
October 6, 2021

Functional drug susceptibility testing using single-cell mass predicts treatment outcome in patient-derived cancer neurosphere models

Researchers at MIT and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a high-throughput assay that detects subtle changes in the mass of individual drug-treated cancer cells as a surrogate biomarker for patient treatment response. Their findings suggest cell mass is a promising functional biomarker for cancers and drugs that lack genomic biomarkers.

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Precision Oncology: Beyond Biomarkers
October 3, 2021

Precision Oncology: Beyond Biomarkers

We would like to invite you to a webinar co-hosted by Oncology Convention Expo, Precision Oncology: Beyond Biomarkers on 5th October at 14:00 (BST).

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Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets for Fibrolamellar Carcinoma Using Patient Derived Xenografts and Direct from Patient Screening
June 23, 2021

Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets for Fibrolamellar Carcinoma Using Patient Derived Xenografts and Direct from Patient Screening

Sanford M. Simon and his group tested over 5,000 compounds, either already approved for other clinical uses or in clinical trials, to see whether any of the compounds could be repurposed to treat fibrolamellar. The team used PDX models to uncover a few classes of therapeutics that eliminate fibrolamellar tumor cells grown in mice.

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