Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Know Your TumorSM Program Surpasses 1,000 Enrolled Patients

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – (Feb. 8, 2017) – The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network announced today that since the 2014 inception of its Know Your TumorSM personalized medicine service, more than 1,000 pancreatic cancer patients have enrolled. To date, approximately 500 of these patients and their oncologists have received a molecular profiling report to help guide treatment decisions.

These reports, developed and administered by Perthera, Inc., a McLean, VA precision medicine company, arm pancreatic cancer patients and their oncologists with information about the biology of their tumor and provide personalized treatment options, including clinical trials.

“Every pancreatic cancer patient is unique and so are their treatment options,” said Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), the global leader accelerating the pace of research for pancreatic cancer. “Know Your Tumor affords pancreatic cancer patients the opportunity to find personalized treatments and clinical trials that may not have been considered otherwise.”

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and kills more people than breast cancer. With a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent, the disease is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer death around 2020.

A study published in a 2016 issue of JAMA Oncology showed that patients’ tumors had a better response to treatment when their treatment was determined by molecular profiling. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) strongly recommends molecular profiling to help identify the best treatment options. The organization covers the full cost of Perthera’s services for patients enrolled in Know Your Tumor.

Each unique report utilizes Perthera’s Precision Cancer Analysis (PCA) and includes three types of information: a biological analysis, data analysis using Perthera’s proprietary database, and human expertise. This human expertise is provided by Perthera’s in-house group of researchers and oncologists, and a medical review panel comprised of outside cancer experts.

Unlike many tests that examine the genomic profile of a patient’s tumor, the Perthera PCA report does not rely on genomic analysis alone, but instead uses a “multi-omic” approach. This approach considers both genomic and proteomic alterations to the tumor.

“We could not be more proud to be an integral part of the Know Your Tumor program,” said Andrew Mignatti, president and CEO of Perthera. “Not only does Know Your Tumor allow us to deliver our technology and services to patients with this devastating disease, but with PanCAN we have created a role model that advocacy organizations for other types of cancers emulate. The ‘ripple effect’ of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s actions are being felt far beyond those with pancreatic cancer.”

Learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Know Your Tumor program and Perthera here.