Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the research arm of Baylor Scott & White Health; the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, a nonprofit biomedical research center; and OncoHost, a global leader in next-generation precision oncology for improved personalized cancer therapy, today announced a new research study.
This new, multi-year study will utilize Baylor Scott & White’s Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository (TIOB)—which collects, catalogs and stores samples of biological material for cancer research—to analyze resistance mechanisms in cancer using multiomics tools including proteomics, single cell analysis, Ct-DNA, and microbiome analysis combined with bioinformatics and machine learning tools. A comprehensive analysis will be conducted on lung cancer patients at various stages of the disease, analyzing elements such as the host response, the patient’s microbiome, tumor DNA and immune system activity. Testing will look at the patient’s urine, blood, stool, tissue, cells, DNA, RNA, and proteins. The study will include some 350 patients who will receive follow-ups for up to five years.
“Our approach is a very comprehensive profiling process, one of the most comprehensive for cancer patients to date,” said Ronan Kelly, MD, Director of Oncology at the Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Chair in Immunology at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas, who is principal investigator of the study. “We’re excited to collaborate with OncoHost and TGen on this study and monitor its findings over the next five years. Our hope is that we will improve our patients’ outcomes as a result of this research study.”
“At TGen, we are dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life-changing results,” said Prof. Michael Berens, Director of the Cancer and Cell Biology Division at TGen. “Our focus is on the genetics behind diseases like cancer, and we are pleased to partner with OncoHost, which puts an emphasis on proteomic profiling, and the Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository (TIOB), which is a fantastic resource for cancer studies. Collaborations like these can take us to greater heights in the fight against cancer.”
The study will utilize OncoHost’s PROphet® platform, a plasma-based, proprietary proteomic analysis tool that guides decision-making in the choice of first-line treatment in cancer patients, analyzes resistance mechanisms, and suggests potential treatment combinations to overcome this resistance. Recent results from the ongoing PROPHETIC trial show that the platform accurately predicts clinical benefit probability at twelve months based on one simple pre-treatment blood test, outperforming the predictive capabilities of the existing PD-L1 biomarker. The platform also identifies and highlights personalized drug combinations to mitigate active resistance mechanisms to overcome treatment resistance.
“It’s an honor to collaborate with TGen and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, both of which are prestigious research organizations. Together we aim to identify early resistance to treatment using multiomics technologies, which are further revolutionizing biomedical research,” said Dr. Ofer Sharon, CEO of OncoHost. “This long-term study will provide an extensive assessment of cancer dynamics and the development of resistance. We are working towards gaining a better understanding of patient response and, ultimately, improved overall survival for patients with advanced cancer.”
OncoHost’s PROphet® platform is set to launch in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2023.