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IDICAP: A Novel Tool for Integrating Drug Intervention Based on Cancer Panel
Noelle Kosarek1,2, Eric S Ho3
1Department of Biology, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, USA. Noelle.N.Kosarek@dartmouth.edu.
Abstract:
Cancer is a heterogeneous disease afflicting millions of people of all ages and their families worldwide. Tremendous resources have been and continue to be devoted to the development of cancer treatments that target the unique mutation profiles of patients, namely targeted cancer therapy. However, the sheer volume of drugs coupled with cancer heterogeneity becomes a challenge for physicians to prescribe effective therapies targeting patients' unique genetic mutations. Developing a web service that allows clinicians as well as patients to identify effective drug therapies, both approved and experimental, would be helpful for both parties. We have developed an innovative web service, IDICAP, which stands for Integrated Drug Intervention for CAncer Panel. It uses genes that have been linked to a cancer type to search for drug and clinical trial information from ClinicalTrials.gov and DrugBank. IDICAP selects and integrates information pertaining to clinical trials, disease conditions, drugs under trial, locations of trials, drugs that are known to target the queried gene, and any known single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects. We tested IDICAP by gene panels that contribute to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cancer in general. Clinical trials and drugs listed by our tool showed improved precision compared to the results from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drug Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb). Furthermore, IDICAP provides patients and doctors with a list of clinical facilities in their proximity, a characteristic that lends credence to the Precision Medicine Initiative launched by the White House in the United States in 2015.
Insights
A new web service, IDICAP (Integrated Drug Intervention for Cancer Panel), helps match cancer patients with targeted therapies. It improves precision in identifying effective drugs and clinical trials based on genetic mutations.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Bioinformatics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Cancer is a complex, heterogeneous disease affecting millions globally.
- Targeted cancer therapies aim to treat patients based on unique genetic mutations.
- Physician challenges exist in matching the vast number of drugs to individual cancer mutations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an innovative web service, IDICAP (Integrated Drug Intervention for Cancer Panel), to aid clinicians and patients.
- To facilitate the identification of effective, approved, and experimental drug therapies for cancer based on genetic profiles.
- To enhance precision in cancer treatment selection.
Main Methods:
- IDICAP integrates gene information linked to specific cancer types with data from ClinicalTrials.gov and DrugBank.
- The system retrieves and synthesizes details on clinical trials, drugs, gene-drug interactions, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects.
- The tool was validated using gene panels associated with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and general cancer types.
Main Results:
- IDICAP demonstrated improved precision in identifying relevant clinical trials and drugs compared to existing databases like ClinicalTrials.gov and DGIdb.
- The service successfully identified gene-drug interactions and clinical trial information.
- IDICAP provides geographically relevant clinical facility information, supporting the Precision Medicine Initiative.
Conclusions:
- IDICAP is an effective web service for precision cancer therapy selection.
- The tool enhances the ability to match patients with suitable targeted treatments and clinical trials.
- IDICAP supports personalized medicine by providing tailored drug and trial information, including local clinical options.
