NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) and Paradigm today announced a partnership aimed at improving the genomic profiling of bladder cancer.
The partners will collaborate on a large-scale genomic study that will also include participation by medical centers. The goal is to facilitate the development of new drug treatments for bladder cancer based on a better understanding of the genomic underpinnings of the disease.
Eight institutions are expected to work with BCAN on the study: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; the Johns Hopkins University; MD Anderson Cancer Center; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; the University of Chicago; the University of Michigan; and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) will act as the coordinating center.
The centers will initially enroll 200 metastatic urothelial cancer patients, who will be genomically profiled by Paradigm with next-generation sequencing. Their physicians will receive the results as well as information about potential clinical trials related to the patients' findings.
Results from the study will be housed at HCRN.
The study is the first project of the Bladder Cancer Genomics Consortium (BCGC), a collaboration between BCAN and major medical centers, BCAN and Paradigm said, adding BCGC partners will have access to the data from the study for collaborative translational research and to facilitate the development of new treatments.
BCAN is investing an initial $1.6 million to support study management, support services, and sequencing reporting.
"We hope this new program will be a game-changer in the field of bladder cancer research, bringing new treatment options to those who need it now, and fostering collaborative translational research that will ultimately save lives," BCGC Genomics Advisory Board Chair Matthew Milowsky, who also is the principal investigator on the study, said in a statement.