There was a program on the CBS Evening News October 13 2006 with Katie Couric using supercomputers to analyze blood and tumor tissues. It would analyze the genomic makeup of the samples and then calculate what the best probable therapy treatment for that patient. The only problem was, it was set up for prostate cancer. The Researcher’s Name was Dr. David B, Agus.
So I emailed him:
Dr. Agus,I am presently a patient of Dr. John Kirkwood of the Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh. I am in the battle of my life trying to overcome melanoma. I am 48 yrs. old just in the prime of my life. I have tried Interferon, Dicarbazine and CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies therapies without any success. I saw your story on the CBS Evening News and was hoping that if I submitted my blood sample or donate a tumor, maybe we could get a handle on the treatment protocol for my cancer. Any Help would be greatly appreciated.
Here is Dr. Agus’s response:
JimJohn is an excellent doctor and I am happy to help in any way I can. Presently we do not have melanoma protocols in the database to do correlations. There is a group out of TGEN called MPI (molecular profiling institute) which does a Target now analysis:
http://www.molecularprofiling.com/products/target.cfm
the group is run by dan von hoff and is excellent. The data from this analysis can be used to help ‘guide’ therapeutic decisions.
Use my name if you would like when you call them.
Good luck
David B. Agus, M.D.Director,
Spielberg Family Center for Applied ProteomicsResearch Director,
Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center
8631 West Third Street, Suite 215ELos Angeles, CA 90048
Tel (310) 423-7600
Fax (310) 423-1998
Here is an excerpt of Molecularprofiling:
"The Molecular Profiling Institute's Target Now research program provides advanced tumor analysis for cancer patients whose disease has progressed despite having received first and second-line standard therapies. This unique analysis has resulted in some positive individual outcomes that are presently being validated in a clinical study.
Target Now offers advanced molecular tumor analysis and provides potential therapeutic options to cancer patients for whom several standard therapies have failed. These are patients who need a targeted approach to treat their cancer – now
Based on the molecular profile of a patient's tumor, our program generates potential treatment options that would likely otherwise not be considered. Target Now is going through a prospective clinical trial prior to wider availability. Cancer patients who have clinically progressed despite having received first and second-line standard treatments are now able to access an opportunity - not offered anywhere else in the country - to have their cancer sampled, profiled and assessed to determine if one or more drug targets may exist in their tumor tissue.
The physician report for Target Now patients is generated by our proprietary Personalized Medicine Expert System (PerMedEx). PerMedEx and the associated report assists the physician to more clearly link drug targets to the molecular profile of a patient's tumor and offers the associated references and abstracts to the supporting medical literature."
So I sent this information to Melissa in Pittsburgh and I am waiting to hear their response.
That is it for now.
P.S. You can't say I am not giving it the "Old College Try"
Jimmy B.
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