Many cancer patients at 脱衣直播 now have the option of undergoing genetic analysis that may empower their doctors to customize more effective treatments for them. This cutting-edge care is made possible by a partnership established this past October between Rush and a new Chicago-based technology company called Tempus.
Advances in genetic science and cancer care increasingly are enabling researchers and clinicians to design treatments for cancer that specifically target genetic mutations that cause disease鈥檚 development.
鈥淎s we get a better understanding of how these tumors grow and develop, we can design drugs that affect the mutated genes but not the normal ones,鈥 says , acting director of the Rush University Cancer Center. 鈥淭his is the area of big promise.鈥
鈥淭echnology has come a long way since the human genome was first mapped more than 15 years ago, but many cancer patients are still being treated with a one-size-fits-all approach that may not fit the specific molecular composition of their cancer,鈥 says Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder and CEO of Tempus. 鈥淎t Tempus, we have built an operating system to battle cancer that puts powerful technology and analytics into the hands of physicians on the frontlines of patient care.鈥
Finding where the sequence is out of order
This improved understanding comes from genetic analysis, which enables doctors to see which gene variations a patient has that may be affecting cancer development. The cost and time of such analysis has plummeted dramatically since the Human Genome Project cataloged more than 20,000 human genes by the early 2000s.
Taking advantage of this advance in biotechnology, Tempus can analyze the relevant genes of a patient using simple blood and tissue samples within two or three weeks of receiving the samples 鈥淭hey look at up to 1,700 genes that are commonly associated with cancer,鈥 DeCresece says.
This analysis is called gene sequencing, because each DNA molecule 鈥 the building blocks of genes, which determine an individual鈥檚 characteristics 鈥 is composed of a long strand made up of four amino acids. 鈥淲e see the sequence of the acids as they go along, and at certain locations it鈥檚 abnormal, the sequence is not what we would expect it to be,鈥 DeCresce says.
The more the better
After sequencing a patient鈥檚 genes, Tempus performs a computerized analysis to compare the patient鈥檚 genetic information with the company鈥檚 large, proprietary biological database. The analysis uses machine learning and advanced bioinformatics to search for potentially relevant patterns for patients that are unlikely to respond to conventional therapies. The company then makes the results available to the patient鈥檚 doctors through both a PDF file and an online portal.
鈥淭empus tells us what drugs similar patients have been treated with, how similar patients have done based on national clinical trial information and Tempus鈥 proprietary database,鈥 DeCresce says. The company also can recommend current clinical trials that are accepting new participants and might benefit the patient.
Tempus鈥 database is building on publicly available information from past cancer research by adding de-identified data from each patient鈥檚 genetic analysis as Tempus completes it. Rush and other hospitals working with Tempus are helping the company grow its database by referring patients for genetic analysis. By making this contribution, these partnerships have potential not only to improve care for the hospitals鈥 patients, but also cancer patients around the world.
鈥淲e want to be able to compare the results and know what they mean. To do that, you need large numbers of patients,鈥 DeCresce says. 鈥淭he more people that use it, the more information that鈥檚 in the database.鈥
Mayo Clinic recently became the latest of six announced health care providers to partner with Tempus. Others include Northwestern University鈥檚 Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Penn Medicine鈥檚 Abramson Cancer Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the University of Michigan.
Patient data will be kept anonymous
Rush is offering this assessment to patients who have solid tumors and who doctors think can benefit from the service. DeCresce expects 500 to 700 Rush patients to receive an evaluation by Tempus this year and that the numbers will grow in the future as the company scales up.
Participation is voluntary. To receive the analysis, patients must agree to let their data be added anonymously to Tempus鈥 data base so that patients can benefit from the treatments of those that came before.
鈥淭he information is de-identified,鈥 DeCresce says. 鈥淭he patient鈥檚 name is on the lab results used for patient care, but that name isn鈥檛 on the information entered in the master data base.鈥
鈥榃e are committed to innovation鈥
Founded in 2015, Tempus is the latest venture by Lefkofsky, a Chicago entrepreneur who previously launched several tech companies, including the e-commerce marketplace Groupon. Lefkofsky was inspired to start Tempus after a family member was diagnosed with cancer.
鈥淚t was during and after this experience that I realized that with all of the advances that have been made in medicine, many of its technology tools are far behind,鈥 says. 鈥淎s a result, health care providers do not always have all of the information they could have and would like to have when making important decisions.鈥
In addition to working together on patient care and growing the database, Rush and Tempus are in discussions about expanding their partnership. Potential areas of additional collaboration include developing web-based applications that allow doctors to use Tempus鈥 data more interactively and creating a biorepository to store the blood samples used for analysis.
鈥淎t Rush, we are committed to innovation,鈥 says , the Henry P. Russe, MD, Dean of and senior vice president at Rush. 鈥淭hrough our partnership with Tempus, we expect to be able to usher in an unprecedented era of advancement as it relates to doing what is and has always been first and foremost at Rush 鈥 caring for our patients.鈥
