NantHealth, Inc. has announced the commercial availability of Genomic Proteomic Spectrometry Cancer (GPS Cancer), a comprehensive molecular test and decision support technology that measures the proteins present in the patient’s tumor tissue, combined with whole genomic and transcriptomic sequencing of tumor and normal samples.
GPS Cancer integrates targeted quantitative proteomics with whole genome (DNA) and whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, and a knowledge database containing hundreds of oncogenes and approximately 1,500 cellular pathways to identify genomic and proteomic alterations—from DNA to RNA to protein— targeting proteins with high clinical relevance to each person’s tumor and providing oncologists with a detailed molecular profile of a patient’s cancer to inform personalized treatment strategies.
With the capability to measure at a quantitative level, proteins that have known clinical significance relating to activity or resistance to chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy (mAb), hormonal therapy, small molecule targeted therapy and checkpoint inhibitors, GPS Cancer allows comprehensive molecular profiling of a patient’s tumor tissue. Combined with whole genome and transcriptomic analysis, this test provides informed clinical decision support, arming the physician with insight into the patient’s response and resistance to particular therapeutics before treatment begins. The information is available within 21 days of receipt of the tissue, thus enabling clinical utility.
Test results are available to doctors in a report or accessible through the GPS Cancer Genome Browser, a mobile application available on smartphones, including the BlackBerry Priv. The genome browser app enables physicians and molecular scientists to browse the patient’s whole genome down to a single base pair and provide visual insight into genomic alterations coupled to relevant data about that alteration.
Testing is conducted in the CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory of NantOmics, and is an enabler for the Cancer MoonShot 2020, the world’s most comprehensive cancer care collaborative seeking to accelerate the potential of combination immunotherapy as the next-generation standard of care in cancer patients.
“The ability to bring next-generation cancer treatments to patients marks a significant milestone in the war against cancer,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO of NantHealth. “While genomics has undoubtedly advanced our ability to treat cancer, gene panels have only given us a partial picture and only look at a fraction of the genome. We have leapfrogged from genomics to the era of clinically relevant proteomics with this comprehensive integration of DNA, RNA, and quantitative protein analysis in a single molecular test.”
In January 2016, Independence Blue Cross became the first major insurer to offer reimbursement for GPS Cancer for its members. In May 2016, NantHealth expanded coverage of GPS Cancer nationwide. These organizations include Bank of America, Sanford Health, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which became the nation’s first self-insured employers to cover next-generation whole genome sequencing for various cancers. Sanford Health Plan, an NCQA-accredited regional health plan in the Dakotas, became the second commercial insurer to offer coverage for GPS Cancer.