Precision Medicine Research Project Focuses on Rare Cancers
The study aims to bring advances in precision medicine to people living with rare cancers and their physicians.
Source: Thinkstock
By Jessica Kent
- TargetCancer Foundation (TCF) has announced the Target Rare Cancer Knowledge (TRACK) study, an initiative that leverages genomic analysis and precision medicine to provide patients and providers with personalized treatment recommendations.
TRACK aims to challenge the traditional method of clinical trial participation by incorporating remote consent, allowing patients to access genomic information and tailored treatment recommendations without the requirement of traveling to an academic medical center.
TargetCancer Foundation, a non-profit, patient-founded organization, will serve as the study sponsor and is collaborating with leading experts in the field of rare cancer care. The institution is also partnering with Foundation Medicine, a molecular information company.
“The establishment of TRACK is a significant milestone for TargetCancer Foundation as we seek to help patients with often-overlooked rare cancers identify an effective treatment path,” said Jim Palma, Executive Director, TargetCancer Foundation.
“In partnership with the study’s investigators and Foundation Medicine, we will drive scientific understanding of traditionally understudied rare cancers while directly enabling patients and their physicians to make betterinformed, individualized targeted therapy choices.”
TRACK aims to recruit 400 people in the US diagnosed with any rare cancer, defined as incidence of six per 100,000 people per year in the US. Once patients are enrolled, researchers will conduct comprehensive genomic profiling at baseline and at multiple points over a one- to two-year period. The University of California San Diego and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will serve as enrolling sites for the study.
Participants will also have the option to enroll remotely in the study with TargetCancer Foundation, enabling full participation from geographic areas not typically served by clinical studies.
A virtual molecular tumor board made up of field-leading oncologists, pathologists, surgeons, and other experts will recommend treatment options, guided by the genomic information of each individual patient on the study.
“Foundation Medicine is dedicated to advancing the field of precision medicine through innovative collaborations,” said Brian Alexander, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Foundation Medicine.
“We are proud to partner with TargetCancer Foundation and Drs. Kurzrock, Subbiah, Cleary, and Groisberg to create an innovative research framework that not only provides doctors and patients with more accessible options, but also supports decision-making and learns from their journey.”
The resulting treatments and participant responses will be prospectively tracked for at least one year, linking molecularly-informed treatments to specific patient outcomes. The data produced through TRACK will not only inform patient treatments, it will also contribute to the field’s understanding of genomics in rare cancers. This will meet a critical research need where such knowledge is otherwise lacking.
Through the TRACK study, researchers will continue to advance precision medicine and personalized treatments for cancer care.
“With the introduction of the TRACK study, we can now offer rare cancer patients as well as oncology investigators a detailed analysis of critical genomic information that holds the promise of a targeted treatment protocol for each patient,” said Razelle Kurzrock, MD, Principal Investigator.
“While unprecedented advances throughout the field continue, lack of data and insights sometimes stymie progress for treating rare cancers. With TRACK we have the opportunity to advance rare cancer research and treatment through this exciting new partnership with TargetCancer Foundation and Foundation Medicine.”
