The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched a clinical research to explore more about the treatment options for patients with myeloid cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). This comes an effort by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the NIH to speed up the creation of tailored therapies for these aggressive blood and bone marrow cancers. By making these trials accessible to patients nationwide, the NCI aims to ensure that this benefits future patients facing similar challenges.
NCI is uniquely positioned to conduct this type of research, which is part of a broader series of precision medicine trials designed to facilitate personalized cancer treatment.
W. Kimryn Rathmell, M.D., Ph.D., director of NCI
AML and MDS are highly heterogeneous cancers that can progress rapidly, complicating treatment strategies. Richard F. Little, M.D., from NCI’s Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, noted the necessity of quickly identifying each patient’s cancer subtype to test the most effective treatments.
The myeloMATCH trial intends to match participants to appropriate treatments based on the genetic characteristics of their tumors.
Participants newly diagnosed with AML or MDS will undergo rapid genetic testing of their tumor samples. Depending on their tumor’s molecular profile, they may be assigned to a sub-study testing a specific treatment for their genetic changes or receive standard therapy if no suitable sub-study is available. Additional genetic testing will be done to determine future treatments that are specific to the cancer cells that remain if the first treatment lessens the disease.
With future studies like this one, the myeloMATCH trial aims to recruit a lot more people of various ethnicities, environmental influences, and socio-economic demographics in the next few years. The obtained blood and bone marrow samples will be used to investigate genetic alterations linked to treatment resistance and improve genetic assays.
With other such programs like ComboMATCH and ImmunoMATCH, treatments can be individualized for various types of cancer and will enhance precision medicine.
These initiatives are part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, aiming to prevent over 4 million cancer deaths by the year 2047. With developments like these, the NIH paves way for a time when customized cancer treatments become the norm.
(Input from various source)
Rehash/Dr. Chhavi Garg/MSM
