Perspectives on research activity in the USA on Cancer Precision Medicine

The National Cancer Institute-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice trial is a clinical trial that will analyze various genetic statuses of patients' tumors to determine whether they contain abnormalities which can be a target for an available drug. National Cancer Institute-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice seeks to determine whether improved outcomes can be achieved when cancer treatments are personalized based on molecular abnormalities found in individual patients. As a master protocol, or basket trial, National Cancer Institute-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice can add or remove treatments as indicated over the duration of the study. Each treatment will be used in a unique arm, or sub-study, of the trial. The trial initially has 10 arms, each of which will enroll patients to a specific molecularly targeted treatment. It is ultimately anticipated that 20-25 drugs or combination treatments will be tested. To be eligible for the study, participants must have an advanced solid tumor or lymphoma that is no longer responding or never responded to the standard therapy. National Cancer Institute-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice investigators plan to obtain tumor biopsy specimens from as many as 3000 patients initially. To identify multiple genetic abnormalities that may respond to the targeted drugs selected for the trial, next-generation deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid sequencing will be done in the genetic testing laboratories, analyzing for >4000 different variants across 143 genes. The drugs included in the trial have all either been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for another cancer indication or are still being tested in other clinical trials, but have shown some clinical levels of evidence against tumors with a particular genetic alteration.