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Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Identifies Targeted Therapies for Advanced Cancer Patients

In a new prospective, observational study in JAMA Network Open, a Kyoto University Hospital-led team reports that comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) could guide treatments for patients with chemotherapy-naïve advanced solid cancers. In Japan, the researchers say CPG is currently limited to patients with advanced solid tumors who have completed standard treatment or patients with rare cancers without standard treatments. They add that more evidence is needed to resolve the clinical utility of CGP before standard of care (SOC) treatment.  For their study, the researchers performed CGP using FoundationOne's CDx test for 180 patients across six Japanese hospitals with previously untreated metastatic or recurrent cancers in the gastrointestinal or biliary tract, pancreas, lung, breast, uterus, or ovary, and malignant melanoma. They identified actionable alterations in all patients, druggable cancer genomic alterations in 63.4 percent, and molecular-based recommended therapy options were identified for 61 percent of patients included in the final analysis. "The present findings suggest that CGP before the SOC could provide an opportunity for receiving potentially effective treatments," the authors write.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.