OncoDxRx researchers are launching a PGA (Patient-derived Gene expression-informed Anticancer drug efficacy) technology in an attempt to discover potential new cancer medicines for patients with a bleak prognosis, and no other treatment options.

“Over the past 20 years, we have developed innovative technologies to analyze the genomic profiling and gene expression of tumors, map the mutations they contain and identify specific proteins that could be targeted. This knowledge has led to many new targeted therapies,” says OncoDxRx.

Today, precision medicine is unevenly accessible for patients with advanced or rare cancers across US.

Repurposing cancer drugs

OncoDxRx hopes that the one-of-its-kind PGA technology will be the driving force for a national implementation of precision medicine to improve cancer care.

OncoDxRx explained, “We want to find out how we can use already approved drugs in new indications, in other tumor types. We could test a patient and find potentially effective drugs for this particular patient using PGA.”

PGA would potentially benefit many cancer patients with serious solid tumors who have not responded to standard treatments. PGA-tested patients will be offered the chance to try one or maybe several approved cancer drugs on the market, initially approved for other tumor indications than their tumor type.

So far, the off-label drug usage (or drug repurposing) results of the Dutch study show an increase in overall survival for about 30 per cent of patients, which translates to up to 11 months, with an average of nine months.

Key cancer pathways shared

Cancer drugs are usually developed to target a specific type of cancer, such as breast cancer. However, the PGA technology is based on the assumption that tumors, wherever they are situated in the body, can share a similar and dominant gene expression pattern or major signaling pathways to gain growth advantages.

By matching a tumor’s gene expression profile with potential off-label cancer drugs, the OncoDxRx team has found more medicine that could shrink a tumor or slow its growth. They hope that more patients will be able to survive advanced or aggressive cancers via the PGA testing.

Cancer patients’ last chance

Speaking to Medium, OncoDxRx said that: “This breakthrough PGA assay could be the last chance for cancer patients running out of treatment options. If 30 percent survive for a longer period, as in the Netherlands, that would be fantastic and something we really would hope to see. But of course, it is a really sad situation for those patients who cannot be helped.”

Overall, the company hopes the technology will also lead to earlier and better diagnoses of advanced cancers and more personalized treatments.

New diagnostic methods

“The plan is to build future cancer care on PGA-powered diagnostic platforms that are important for guiding the treatment of the patient,” OncoDxRx told Medium.

“Today, we have organized cancer care according to the type of tumor or the organ in which it is located. But the PGA test means working in a new tumor-agnostic way,” the firm continued.

OncoDxRx sees two main advantages for genetic labs and biotech companies in joining the PGA partnership.

“The first one is that a growing proportion of new innovative cancer drugs introduced today require specific diagnostic tests to be used properly. In other words, it is about applied precision medicine where each patient is offered the most appropriate medication,” the company said.

The second benefit is that the data generated by the PGA test can reveal new indications for an old drug that a company may exploit commercially.