Cancer HealthCast: The Profound Impacts of Precision Medicine, Genomic Sequencing on Cancer Care

A clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute called NCI-MATCH showed how cancer patients could benefit from genomic sequencing and is now informing future trials on precision medicine. The NCI Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice Trial initially screened 6,000 patients and treated 1,300 of them by pairing certain medications with their specific tumors regardless of the cancer type. Future trials like ComboMATCH will now look at precision medicine to study how tumors respond to targeted treatments. NCI Researchers Dr. Lindsay Harris and Dr. Peter O'Dwyer shared how precision oncology is expanding treatment options and increasing patients' survival rates. They also discuss the importance of clinical trials like these for progressing the fight against cancer.