SEPANG, Dec 22 — Roche-Foundation Medicine Inc (FMI) has launched a genetic test that helps doctors design personalised treatment plans for cancer patients.

According to FMI, cancer is no longer perceived as a single disease, but a collection of diseases with their own genetic makeup. Lung cancer, for example, can be categorised into at least a dozen distinct subtypes based on genetic mutations.

"Cancer genomics help establish an accurate diagnosis,” Dr Nitesh Rohatgi, a senior consultant in medical oncology at Max Hospital in New Delhi, told a recent media briefing.

"The integration of comprehensive genomic profiling into routine practice has improved clinical outcomes.”

Comprehensive genomic profiling identifies any mutations in cancer-related genes that drive the cancer, which FMI said can help doctors tailor treatments for the individual patient, including approved targeted therapies, therapy approved in another tumour type, or clinical trials. 

Targeted therapies block the spread of cancer by acting on specific molecules associated with cancer growth, unlike standard chemotherapies that kill both rapidly multiplying healthy and cancerous cells. A genome is a complete set of DNA in an organism.

Dr Rohatgi explained that the same treatment may not work for two people who have the same type of cancer e.g. breast cancer.

"Both may have different genetic abnormalities,” he said.

The oncologist said genomic profiling is typically used for advanced stage cancer involving solid tumours, especially when treatment is not working. Solid tumours include breast, colon, lung, and liver cancer.

He cited the case of a 64-year-old woman who had metastatic lung cancer with bone, brain and liver metastases, who was revealed through a genomic profiling test to have an extremely rare genetic mutation. The patient did not respond well to chemotherapy.

Dr Rohatgi said his patient, who died last year, had lived for four years when her average lifespan should have been six months.

He cited another case of a 75-year-old woman who suffered from gastric cancer, who was revealed to have a genetic abnormality found in breast cancer.

According to the Health Ministry, cancer is expected to be the number one killer in Malaysia. It was the second cause of death in private hospitals in 2015 and the third in Ministry of Health hospitals that year.

Comprehensive genomic profiling identifies any mutations in cancer-related genes that drive the cancer, which FMI said can help doctors tailor treatments for the individual patient.

FMI has two tests that analyse solid tumours and blood cancers for genetic abnormalities. According to Foundation Medicine Malaysia, the tests cost between about RM10,000 and RM30,000. It has been approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The genetic tests are available in Malaysia, but they are not reimbursable by government hospitals.

The Foundation Medicine test involves taking a tissue sample from a biopsy of one’s tumour and sending it to a laboratory in Boston, US, to be tested for genetic mutations.

Roche-FMI is a collaboration between Roche Pharmaceuticals and FMI, a US-based company that provides molecular or genomic information services for cancer patients.

*Dr Rohatgi’s media briefing was sponsored by Roche-FMI.