NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Selah Genomics, a subsidiary of EKF Diagnostics, today announced a collaboration with Greenville Health System, DecisionQ, and Becton Dickinson to integrate next-generation sequencing into the care of colon cancer patients.
As part of the 18-month partnership, Selah Genomics will use its PrecisionPath NGS technology to profile tumor samples provided by the Institute for Translational Oncology Research (ITOR), part of GHS's Cancer Institute. The samples, from colon cancer patients, will be provided with full clinical annotation.
DecisionQ will then use its machine-learning platform to integrate genetic profile data with these annotations with the goal of improving clinical decisions related to the patients' treatment.
BD is funding the project in part in exchange for the first opportunity to license the technology. After the initial collaboration, a clinical trial is planned to validate the method as a clinical decision support tool.
"This initial collaboration will demonstrate the power of a new generation of personalized medicine decision support tools for oncologists, starting with a particular focus on empowering oncologists treating colon cancer patients in the community-based setting," Selah CEO Michael Bolick said in a statement.
Selah's PrecisionPath service incorporates a range of clinically validated biomarker assays to support stratification and management of patients diagnosed with cancer. GHS's ITOR has been piloting the service since it began in April 2013.