NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Contextual Genomics and the Personalized Medicine Initiative (PMI) announced today the start of a Canada-wide program that will examine the utility of the company's cancer genomics test in guiding patient treatment regimens.
Vancouver-based Contextual Genomics has developed a diagnostic panel, called Find It, which screens for 90 mutations commonly found in cancers and which can help healthcare providers select the best treatment for a particular patient.
In mid-2014, Contextual Genomics and PMI initiated a study that applied Find It to roughly 2,000 banked tumor samples to confirm that the test functioned as expected, although no treatment decisions were based on this testing.
With the completion of that work, the partners have now launched a program that aims to use the test to analyze solid tumors from 1,500 cancer patients across Canada in order to guide actual treatment decisions. The Find It test will be provided free of charge to patients, with results provided to their oncologists.
"We believe that quality genomic testing should become a standard practice in cancer care to give patients access to the most effective treatment option based on their tumor profile," Contextual Genomics President and CEO Chris Wagner said in a statement. "The … program aims to make genomics cancer testing widely available in Canada."