There are two ways to achieve major improvements in cancer chemotherapy.  One way is to discover effective new drugs and the other is to use existing drugs more effectively.  That is where Functional Tumor Cell Profiling can serve a useful role.  Functional Tumor Cell Profiling helps to match each patient with the treatment that offers the best chance for success.

 

We offer three levels of clinical service.  For all levels of service, a separate, written interpretation of assay results by Larry Weisenthal, M.D., Ph.D. is available.  Apart from our fully-validated, non-investigational clinical service options, some patients may be candidates for a research study.  Phone 714-259-2100 for more information, including inclusionary and exclusionary criteria.  Our standard clinical services are described below.

 

The Comprehensive Profile

This is the level of service that is right for most patients.  It includes both the CytoRx™ profile for standard chemotherapy drugs and the EGFRx™ profile for tyrosine kinase inhibiting agents.  The use of both profiles allows for testing of reasonable drug combinations in which standard and targeted drugs are combined. 

 

The best clinical results often are obtained by administering standard and targeted drugs in combination.  Clinical trials currently underway or in planning stages will help to identify the best combinations of these drugs for the “average” cancer patient.  As always, we contend that no cancer patient is average.  Comprehensive Functional Tumor Cell Profiling allows each patient to receive the most appropriate standard plus targeted drug combination even while some of these combinations are awaiting trial and error discovery in the clinic. 

 

There is a financial benefit to the patient in performing Standard and Targeted profiles concurrently.  This is because some procedures relating to specimen preparation are intrinsic to both profiles.  Preparing a single specimen for use in both profiles saves us time and expense.  When added to a Standard Profile, we are able to offer the patient a substantial fee reduction for the companion Targeted Therapy Profile.

 

Also available with the Comprehensive Profile is a written interpretation in which Dr. Weisenthal integrates data from the CytoRx™ profile and the EGFRx™ profile and suggests rational treatment strategies based upon profiling results and published drug activity and toxicity data. 

 

Standard Drug Profile

There may be cases when a patient or physician is interested only in the activity of standard chemotherapy agents.  The Standard Drug profile consists of the CytoRx™ test in which 20 – 30 standard anti-cancer drugs are evaluated.  All drugs are tested as single agents.  In addition, some drugs are tested in combination if complementary mechanisms of action, lack of cross resistance, and acceptable levels of cross toxicity suggest that true drug synergy (as opposed to simple additive drug effect) is possible.     

 

Available with the Standard Profile is a separate, written interpretation of CytoRx™ profiling results by Dr. Weisenthal.

 

Targeted Therapy Profile

If the patient and physician wish to obtain information pertaining only to targeted therapy drugs that inhibit tyrosine kinase activity, the EGFRx™ Profile may be ordered separately.  The targeted therapy profile includes analysis of the following targeted drugs: erlotinib (Tarceva®), gefitinib (Iressa®), sorafenib (Nexavar®), sunitinib (Sutent®) and, in some cases, lapatinib (Tykerb®).  For certain cancer types, imatinib (Gleevec®), which putatively has a different mechanism of action, can be tested.

 

Available with the Targeted Therapy Profile is a separate, written interpretation of EGFRx™ profiling results by Dr. Weisenthal.