SAN DIEGO, CA – February 16, 2017 – CureMatch, the developer of a decision support platform for combination therapy in cancer, today announced that research from their co-founder and medical advisor, Dr. Razelle Kurzrock, was selected by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for inclusion in Clinical Cancer Advances 2017. The Society will feature the study, recognized as one of the year’s major achievements, in its annual review of progress against cancer and emerging trends in the field.
The study, first published in the journal Cancer Research in 2016, looked at more than 300 patients with diverse refractory cancers, including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, sarcoma, and renal cancer who had undergone next-generation sequencing of their tumor. Matching scores were calculated for each patient, based on the number of drug matches and genomic aberrations. It was found that high matching scores were independently associated with more frequent and longer remissions, as well as longer survival. Overall, the study offers a clinical proof of concept for the utility of comprehensive genomic profiling in assigning therapy to patients with refractory malignancies, especially in those patients with multiple genomic aberrations for whom combination therapies could be implemented.
The research is highly relevant and significant to CureMatch, because the CureMatch platform incorporates molecular tumor profiling data, such as next-generation sequencing, and recommends combination therapies to oncologists based on matching scores.
“We are very proud of Dr. Kurzrock and her team for this accomplishment,” said Blaise Barrelet, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of CureMatch, “We believe this makes a compelling case for the use of precision medicine, and specifically the use of matching scores, in cancer treatment. CureMatch’s decision support platform utilizes this approach, and is available to oncologists and their patients today.”
Dr. Kurzrock is a board-certified medical oncologist and a renowned expert in precision medicine. She is the Director of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego, and is a co-founder and medical advisor of CureMatch. The study was a collaboration between researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Foundation Medicine, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at HealthOne, and the Moores Cancer Center. To learn more, read the report at asco.org/CCA(see reference 85 on page 42). A copy of the article, Cancer Therapy Directed by Comprehensive Genomic Profiling: A Single Center Study, can also be downloaded from the Cancer Research website (http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/76/13/3690.short).
About CureMatch
CureMatch™, Inc., based in San Diego, is a digital health company focused on personalized medicine and combination therapy in oncology. Combination therapy has been used effectively in the treatment of other diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, and is considered by many to be the future of cancer treatment. CureMatch’s decision support system guides oncologists in the selection of combinations of cancer drugs that are personalized for individual patients, based on the molecular profile of the patient’s own tumor. The CureMatch platform with a foundation in oncology, genetics, proteomics, biochemistry, and cell biology was originally developed and licensed by a multidisciplinary team at UC San Diego Moore’s Cancer Center and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. For more information, visit www.curematch.com
