Newswise — SECAUCUS, N.J., May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced it is participating as a designated laboratory in the NCI-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-MATCH or EAY131) precision medicine trial, the largest precision medicine trial of its kind. The trial is co-led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN). Tumor gene testing by a designated lab is the only pathway for patients to enroll.
NCI-MATCH (EAY131) is a phase 2 precision medicine trial that seeks to determine the effectiveness of treatment that is directed by genomic profiling in patients with solid tumors, lymphomas, or myelomas that have progressed following standard treatments expected to prolong survival, or for rare cancer types for which there is no standard treatment. Such discoveries could be eligible to move on to larger, more definitive trials. With nearly 40 treatment arms addressing a wide range of tumor types and targeted treatments, NCI-MATCH is the largest trial of its kind. To learn more about NCI-MATCH, including the nearly 1,100 clinical trial sites across the country, visit www.ecog-acrin.org/nci-match-eay131. The federal trial record is NCT02465060.
Two separate NGS services provided by Quest Diagnostics met the criteria for participation in NCI-MATCH based on peer review of their validation, reliability and accuracy. The 50SEQ cancer panel is performed by Quest's Med Fusion NGS business at its advanced CLIA-laboratory in Lewisville, TX. The IBM Watson Genomics from Quest Diagnostics service is performed by Quest's advanced CLIA-laboratory in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 50SEQ was designed with the input of Texas Oncology, Baylor Scott & White Health and The US Oncology Network to meet their specific needs for matching cancer patients to appropriate therapies in their care pathways. IBM Watson Genomics from Quest Diagnostics emerged from a collaboration that included Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to design a panel and provide a test that is appropriate for community cancer centers.
"Precision medicine is changing the way we treat cancer and giving hope to people currently living with the disease," said Carrie Eglinton Manner, Senior Vice President Quest Diagnostics Advanced Diagnostics Services. "Our participation in NCI-MATCH will make Quest's state-of-the-art genomic analysis and the potential for improved care readily available to participating oncologists and their patients in communities across the United States."
Under the terms of the collaboration, when a treating oncologist at a participating NCI-MATCH site orders tumor profiling to guide clinical care for their patient, Quest Diagnostics will look for trial matches for the patient. Upon the identification of a qualifying genetic alteration abnormality (such as a mutation translocation), Quest Diagnostics will notify the treating physician that the patient may be potentially eligible for NCI-MATCH and provide an official referral letter. Utilizing this referral provided by Quest Diagnostics, the treating physician and their patient may choose to pursue enrollment onto the screening step of the study (Step 0), if they meet all eligibility requirements for the trial.
As part of the screening portion of the study (Step 0), NCI and ECOG-ACRIN trial leaders will review Quest Diagnostics' trial match centrally. If they verify that the patient is potentially eligible for an NCI-Match treatment arm, the patient will be formally assigned to the treatment arm and the participating MATCH site will be notified that the patient may be enrolled onto the treatment portion of the study (Step 1). Quest Diagnostics will be available to field questions relating to testing results and their potential applicability to the NCI-MATCH study. For any other general, logistical, or clinical questions related to the study, Quest Diagnostics will facilitate communications between the treating physicians and the NCI-MATCH study team, but sites may also contact the NCI-MATCH study team directly. To read a summary of the process, visit http://ecog-acrin.org/nci-match-eay131-designated-labs.
"Tumor profiling and genomic testing are becoming common in daily practice for oncologists to help guide clinical care for cancer patients," said NCI-MATCH study co-chair James V. Tricoli, PhD, Chief, Diagnostic Biomarkers and Technology Branch, Cancer Diagnosis Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the NCI. "We require qualifying laboratories to proactively identify potentially eligible patients for the NCI-MATCH trial."
About 1.7 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2019, according to the American Cancer Association.
"NCI-MATCH is a discovery trial whose very nature—identifying and exploring knowledge gaps in precision oncology and advancing new hypotheses—means studying small subsets of patients," said ECOG-ACRIN study chair Keith T. Flaherty, MD, director of Clinical Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "We are qualifying additional laboratories so we can cast a wider net for patients with the biomarkers of interest."
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 46,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics
For further information: Quest Diagnostics: Kim Gorode, (Media): 973-520-2800; Shawn Bevec, (Investors): 973-520-2900
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