By using a patient's DNA to craft personalized drug treatments, doctors can increase the efficacy and better the outcomes of fighting cancer, according to a UC San Diego School of Medicine-led study just released.
The study, published in Thursday's online edition of Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that by tailoring a multi-drug treatment to each patient's specific tumor mutations, doctors can greatly enhance the success of treatment.
"Every patient and every cancer is unique, and so should how we treat for them," said Dr. Jason Sicklick, senior author of the study, professor of surgery and pharmacology at UCSD School of Medicine and surgical oncologist at UCSD Health. "Our findings demonstrate that precision oncology at the individual level is achievable. When every patient's treatment is guided by their tumor's distinctive DNA, we can treat cancer with better accuracy."
The clinical trial — the Investigation of Profile-Related Evidence Determining Individualized Cancer Therapy (I-PREDICT) — used advanced genomic sequencing to identify the molecular changes driving an individual's cancer. Doctors then created personalized treatment plans using FDA-approved drugs, with doses "carefully adjusted for each patient to precisely target those molecular alterations," the opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach, the researchers said.
Among 210 patients with advanced cancers that were studied and treated, almost 95% had totally distinct tumor profiles. This led to 157 different treatment regimens, including 103 new drug pairings that had never been tested together before, a statement from UCSD read.
According to the findings, those patients whose treatments were closely matched to their tumor mutations saw better results, improving their chances for response and survival.
Additionally, those who received new drug combinations did not experience more severe side effects than patients receiving standard therapies.