Precision medicine promises a revolutionary understanding of cancers based on genetic alterations instead of primary tumor location and appearance. As the number of druggable gene aberrations and predictive biomarkers grow in oncology, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have increasingly been substituted for (or added to) the more conventional techniques (e.g., single-gene testing, routine molecular pathology). Given the decreasing costs and turnaround time of NGS, the improvement in bioinformatics analyses, and the harmonization of knowledgebases to facilitate the clinical interpretation of genomic results, the move to comprehensive genomic profiling by NGS in clinical testing is a compelling factor in the precision cancer medicine context.

But while the knowledge of the genomic landscape might help to guide the diagnosis and therapy of multiple types of cancers, there are still challenges that need to be overcome, including sample selection, data interpretation and insight generation, insurance coverage of genomic profiling for cancer patients, or aspects such as the implementation in community hospitals. Furthermore, the fact that diagnostic testing is still lagging while the list of biomarker-targeted drugs keeps on growing needs to be addressed as well.

To understand as a community what to tackle and how, we built a track at PMWC 2022 Silicon Valley, June 28 – 30, that focuses on Oncology Applications. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn first-hand what current studies and scientific initiatives are underway that employ genomics profiling across various cancer types to improve patient outcomes via targeted treatments.

More specifically, here are the proposed topics of the Early Oncology Applications Track:
• Dismantling Barriers to Biomarker Testing Through Collaboration: A panel discussion chaired by Omar Perez (AstraZeneca) and with Nikki Martin (LUNGevity Foundation), Kamala Maddali (Health Collaborations), Jenn Higgins (Guardant Health), and Dan Rhodes (Strata Oncology).
• Health Systems Perspective Leveraging Real-World Evidence to Improve Patient Care: chaired by Anna Berry (Syapse), with Mary Walters (Advocate Aurora Health), and Haythem Ali (Henry Ford Health System).
• Comprehensive Profiling: Combination of Tissue and Plasma Biomarker Strategies: chaired by Maggie Rougier-Chapman, (Personal Genome Diagnostics), with Cynthia Pointer (Genapsys), Ravi Kolhe (Augusta University) and Stephen Miller (Blueprint Medicines).
• Immuno-oncology Biomarkers for Predicting Drug Efficacy: chaired by Padma Sundar (OncoCyte), with Paul Billings (Natera) and Dan Rhodes (Strata Oncology).
• Reimagining Oncology Closing the Gaps between Science and Clinic: chaired by Christian Wolfrum (Siemens Healthineers), with Ben Gonzales (Biognosys), Gangarajan Sampath (Siemens Healthineers), Debanti Sengupta (Varian Medical Systems), and Isma Benattia (Amgen).
• Challenges to Implementing Precision Medicine in the Community Setting: A panel chaired by Jerry Mitchell (Foundation Medicine), with Erika Brown (One Cancer Place), Vivian Lee (UCSF), Kashyap Patel (Carolina Blood & Cancer Care Associations), and Christopher Woods (Sutter Health).
• Community Hospitals Reimbursement Landscape and Modelling: A panel chaired by Brady Davis (Canexia Health), Julie Eggington (Centre for Genomic Interpretation), and Jennifer Strickland-Reddy (Sutter Health).

tomer, Join this session as well as many others by Registering Today for the in-person June 28-30 Silicon Valley PMWC conference to meet and mingle with experts in the field and take advantage of mild summer California weather while reconnecting with your colleagues.

Sincerely,

Tal Behar
Co-founder & President, PMWC
Precision Medicine World Conference – June 28-30, 2022 Silicon Valley