In the CytoRx™ standard chemotherapy drug
profile (a sample report is shown below - targeted therapies are shown on a
separate report), 20 to 30 standard chemotherapy drugs and drug combinations
are tested in three separate cell death-based assay systems against a
patient’s living tumor cells to identify the most promising treatments for
that patient alone. In published
studies, drugs that were active in Functional Tumor Cell Profiling tests
were 7 -9 times more likely to benefit patients who received them than drugs
that were inactive in profiling tests.
A separate, written interpretation of test results by Larry
Weisenthal, M.D., Ph.D. is available with each CytoRx functional tumor cell
profiling study.
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Designations of Sensitive,
Intermediate, Resistant and EDR
are relative terms which derive from an algorithm in which the extent of
tumor cell death quantitatively-measured in vitro is compared to cell death
measurements observed in closely-matched datasets of previously-tested
patients.
We feel that by more closely matching factors
specific to each patient with those of reference patients, the assay result
achieves greater clinical relevance.
That is why we obtain and match 9 separate patient-specific and tumor
cell-specific parameters whereas other labs apply only a single parameter.
A Bayesian statistical model is applied to calculate an “Assay-Predicted
Response Probability” for each drug.
An
explanation of how assay results are calculated appears on the reverse side
of each assay report. Raw data
from a current assay and from any previous assays performed for your
patients are always available upon request.
Photomicrographs
of each patient’s actual tumor cells show the condition of the cells as
received and enriched and also the condition of
control cells post-culture.
Also shown, for illustration only, is the in vitro effect of a
relatively active drug versus an inactive drug upon the
patient’s cancer cells.
The Weisenthal
DISC assay is the only assay system in which drug effect upon cancer cells
is visualized directly, allowing for discrimination of
tumor cells from nontumor cells.
The entire contents of each
microtiter plate well, including controls and each drug at each
concentration, are cytocentrifuged onto glass slides, stained cytologically, and retained as a permanent, archival record.
Assays performed. Each patient’s tumor cells are tested separately using three different cell death-based assay systems to ensure that critical treatment decisions are based upon the most accurate information available.
Assay quality and other technical factors are summarized. These are also discussed in detail in a separate multi-page consultation provided by Dr. Weisenthal.
Drugs are tested in combination when there is reason to believe that true drug synergy (as opposed to additive drug effect) is possible based upon documentation in our assay systems or else upon request of the referring clinician (as in the example shown here).