Editorial: Tumor Heterogeneity and Personalized Medicine — NEJM

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Editorial

Tumor Heterogeneity and Personalized Medicine

This article has no abstract; the first 100 words appear below.

"In the past 10 years, the number of tools available to treat cancer has increased, as has our understanding of what makes some cancers tick. The standard old-time cancer treatments were largely predicated on attacking DNA, an approach fueled by the belief that tumor cells divide more rapidly than normal cells. However, with the notable exception of Burkitt's lymphoma, only a small percentage of tumor cells in a patient are dividing at any given time. As we have learned more about DNA repair mechanisms and epigenetic alterations in cancers, DNA remains a viable target for new cancer therapies, but DNA . . ."

Advancing personalized medicine: Tailoring drugs to fit a patient's genetic predisposition

(note: see chart on website)

Drug effectiveness on common diseases Not all drugs are equally effective in all patients. Some types of drugs, such as analgesics,
are effective on almost all patients, whereas other types, such as anticancer agents, are effective only on 25% of patients. In working
towards the realization of personalized medicine, it is important to develop ways of using genetic information to prescribe to
patients the most suitable drugs in light of their genetic risk to side effects.

Cepmed Launches Online Personalized Medicine Portal for Canadians - media release

Cepmed Launches Online Personalized Medicine Portal: Media Release, Montreal

The Centre of Excellence in Personalized Medicine (Cepmed), announced today that they have launched a web-based Personalized Medicine Portal for Canadians and joined DNA Direct by Medco's Genomic Medicine Network (GMN).

Cepmed's Personalized Medicine Portal (Portal) provides information and decision making tools that will help patients understand how genetic testing can be used to inform treatment decisions and enable better communication between patients and providers. The Portal, available at www.cepmed.com, provides information about access to specific genetic tests in each Province. "Many of the stakeholders have told us that there is a dearth of reliable, evidence based information concerning personalized medicine tests. A centralized source of information about which tests exist, who should take them and how they should be interpreted is what we are offering through our partnership with DNA Direct by Medco. We believe this resource will contribute to improved patient outcomes and savings to the health care system." - Dr. Clarissa Desjardins - CEO, Cepmed.

According to the Personalized Medicine Coalition, there are more than 50 genetic tests currently available that can inform treatment decisions and drug therapy for a wide range of diseases.(i) With the availability of these tests, support and demand for personalized medicine is growing internationally. However, effective integration of personalized medicine into clinical care is challenging. It is widely thought that effective adoption of personalized medicine will require the participation of informed and engaged patients and healthcare providers.

Cepmed plans to use the Portal as a key element of implementation studies in personalized medicine, collaborating with healthcare providers, patient organizations and the public to define how personalized medicine is best applied within the Canadian health care system. These studies will be informed by Cepmed's participation in DNA Direct by Medco's GMN. The GMN brings together leaders in personalized medicine and offers opportunities to establish multi-site studies in genomics, with a particular focus on real-world or implementation studies.

"We are excited about this opportunity to expand our Genomic Medicine Network to include a premier personalized medicine organization in Canada," said Joan Kennedy, President of DNA Direct by Medco. "Cepmed will add a unique perspective and new types of collaboration opportunities across the network."

About DNA Direct

DNA Direct, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MHS), delivers guidance and decision support for genomic medicine to patients, providers and payers. The company's comprehensive clinical programs are unique to genomic medicine and combine proprietary technology with genetic expertise; including a national call center of genetic experts, web-based applications, and educational resources and training. DNA Direct is based in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.dnadirect.com.

About Cepmed

Cepmed is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting personalized medicine through research, commercialization, and education. Cepmed participates in several public-private partnerships that have funded studies in translational medicine and pharmacogenomics. Cepmed has established expert physician panels in cardiology, oncology, and a multi-disciplinary Strategic Advisory Panel. Cepmed is working with these panels to ensure that personalised medicine is effectively incorporated into routine medical practice, resulting in improved health care in Canada.

Founded by Dr. Jean Claude Tardif at the Montreal Heart Institute, Cepmed makes use of the Beaulieu-Saucier Pharmacogenomics Centre, the Montreal Heart Institute Coordinating Centre (MHICC) and the Montreal Heart Institute Biobank in its projects. It is a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) and supported by the Canadian Government and Genome Quebec as well as private partners including Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novartis.

(i) "The Case for Personalized Medicine, 3rd Edition", published by the Personalized Medicine Coalition in 2011

Katherine Bonter
Director of Advocacy and Promotion
Centre of Excellence in Personalised Medicine
(514) 670-7658
kbonter@cepmed.com

CAHG Study Highlights Personalized Medicine Gap - PRNewswire

Perspective Towards a framework for personalized healthcare: lessons learned from the field of rare diseases

Who’s who in the world of personalised cancer treatments? - Cutting Edge Cancer World - Education & knowledge through people & facts

Ovarian Cancer Care: It’s Time for “Personalized” Approaches - Cancer Network

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ONCOLOGY. Vol. 24 No. 8
THE LIU/MATULONIS ARTICLE REVIEWED
Ovarian Cancer Care: It’s Time for “Personalized” Approaches

Individual genomes and personalized medicine: life diversity and complexity

"Patients and tumors are unique."

NEJM -- The Path to Personalized Medicine (U.S.)

"...In February, the NIH and the FDA announced a new collaboration on regulatory and translational science to accelerate the translation of research into medical products and therapies; this effort includes a joint funding opportunity for regulatory science. Working with academic experts, companies, doctors, patients, and the public, we intend to help make personalized medicine a reality. A recent example of this collaboration is an effort to identify new investigational agents to which certain tumors, identified by their genetic signatures, are responsive.
Real progress will come when clinically beneficial new products and approaches are incorporated into clinical practice. As the field advances, we expect to see more efficient clinical trials based on a more thorough understanding of the genetic basis of disease. We also anticipate that some previously failed medications will be recognized as safe and effective and will be approved for subgroups of patients with specific genetic markers.


When the federal government created the national highway system, it did not tell people where to drive — it built the roads and set the standards for safety. Those investments supported a revolution in transportation, commerce, and personal mobility. We are now building a national highway system for personalized medicine, with substantial investments in infrastructure and standards. We look forward to doctors' and patients' navigating these roads to better outcomes and better health."