Evolving from the
One-Size-Fits-All Paradigm:

The Rise of
Precision Oncology

Historically, cancer treatment has relied on a one-size-fits-all approach where drugs and other therapies designed to target large groups of individuals are prescribed based on population parameters, but not on the individual patient’s likelihood of positive response. Given that cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease, universal approaches to care are not always effective and patients’ responses to prescribed cancer therapy vary based on a wide range of individual factors.

Precision oncology is a
move towards true personalized
patient care.

Precision Oncology is a move towards true personalized patient care.

Patients are stratified according to clinical biomarkers.

Patient segmentation leads to personalized therapy selection.

Goal of Precision Oncology: ensure that all patients benefit from the selected therapies.

The Two Sides of
Precision Oncology

Genomic Profiling Functional Assays

Genomic Profiling

Use of NGS to search for cancer “driver” mutations with actionable potential.

Utility restricted to targeted therapies.

Requires DNA extraction from solid or liquid biopsies.

Empiric and agnostic selection of therapies from ex-vivo drug screenings with patient cancer cells.

Utility for chemotherapy, targeted therapy and certain immunotherapies.

Require biopsies of viable tumor cells and ex-vivo culture.

Functional Assays

Functional Assays
Adapt to the
Complexity of Cancer

Functional Assays Adapt to the Complexity of Cancer

Ex-vivo culture of patient's cancer cells “replicates” the entire mutational landscape of the disease.

Functional assays are focused on assessing cellular outcomes (i.e. cancer cell death vs cell survival in response to a drug) rather than on the alteration of driver genes.