Penn State Cancer Institute Joins Caris Life Sciences’ Precision Oncology Alliance

IRVING, Texas and HERSHEY, Pa., Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Caris Life Sciences®, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced today that Penn State Cancer Institute has joined its Precision Oncology Alliance™. The Alliance is a collaborative network of leading cancer centers that demonstrates a commitment to precision medicine. These centers work together toward a common goal to advance tumor profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology.

Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, with their distinguished history in cancer research and patient care, form the backbone of Penn State Cancer Institute. The Institute provides state-of-the-art comprehensive cancer clinical services and clinical trial treatment options for patients throughout Central Pennsylvania. At the flagship location in Hershey, patients have access to high-quality oncology care for the treatment of human cancers, leading to a seamless integration of treatment and a real-time medicine model that helps ensure each cancer patient receives the appropriate treatment at the right time.

“Penn State Cancer Institute is well known regionally, nationally and internationally for providing patients with an extensive portfolio of cancer research insights. The Institute has a proud legacy of transforming the way cancer is prevented and treated through the use of diagnostics and unique, leading-edge treatment regimens,” said Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman of Caris Life Sciences. “We are excited to welcome the Penn State Cancer Institute to the Precision Oncology Alliance and look forward to continuing to work with the members of the Alliance to increase the role of precision medicine in cancer treatment for all patient populations.”

Through the Precision Oncology Alliance – powered by Caris – Penn State Cancer Institute will partner with other notable cancer centers and academic institutions to broaden patient access to precision cancer care, have early access to Caris’ Next Generation Profiling™ offerings, and establish evidence-based standards for tumor profiling and molecular testing in oncology. By leveraging the comprehensive genomic and proteomic tumor profiling services available through the Caris Molecular Intelligence® platform, oncologists from Penn State Cancer Institute will be able to prioritize therapeutic options and determine which clinical trial opportunities may benefit their patients with cancer diagnosis. Additionally, the Institute’s researchers will partner with other Alliance members to contribute to and publish data and advance collaborative clinical trials.

“We are proud to join the Precision Oncology Alliance and add our decades-long expertise in cancer research and medicines to this fast-growing network,” said Dr. Raymond Hohl, Director of Penn State Cancer Institute. “Penn State Cancer Institute is dedicated to continuing its effort to achieve deep molecular understanding of how cancers form and how they can be effectively prevented and treated through the use of precision medicine and novel therapeutics.”

One of the strengths at the Penn State Cancer Institute is its neuro-oncology program, specifically in the area of management and research in central nervous system (CNS) metastases. “We are really excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the Alliance network and to empower personalized cancer care to patients here at Penn State Health,” said Dr. Michael Glantz, Co-director of the Neuro-Oncology Program.

“Penn State Cancer Institute is a leader in providing interdisciplinary care by delivering a broad range of patient services at every step along the cancer journey,” said Chadi Nabhan, M.D., MBA, FACP, Chairman of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance. “Joining the Precision Oncology Alliance is a demonstration of their team’s commitment to comprehensive cancer care. Along with their breadth of expertise, the Penn State team of researchers and clinicians brings valuable contributions to the Alliance as we look to further integrate molecular profiling into cancer care and treatment with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.”

“We have been witnessing an unprecedented pace of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics advance. Moreover, the recent approval of a number of biomarker-guided cancer-agnostic drug treatments strongly argues for the adoption of comprehensive tumor molecular profiling as an optimal key to modern cancer care,” said Dr. Patrick Ma, Associate Director of Translational Research, and Co-leader of Next Generation Therapies Program at the Cancer Institute. “We are very enthusiastic to be a member of the Precision Oncology Alliance. We look forward to collaborating with the expanding network centers in bringing the best precision medicine and therapeutics to our cancer patients in Central Pennsylvania.”

The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance comprises over 40 academic, hospital and community-based cancer institutions across the United States, including 14 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Caris Precision Oncology Alliance members also have access to the Caris Pharmatech oncology trial network, which can help reduce the time it takes to identify and connect appropriate patients with novel targeted cancer therapies in clinical development.

Find out more about the Precision Oncology Alliance, powered by Caris, at https://www.carislifesciences.com/collaboration/.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences^® is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. The company’s suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps physicians and cancer patients make more precise and personalized treatment decisions. MI Exome^™ whole exome sequencing with 22,000 DNA genes, and MI Transcriptome^™ whole transcriptome sequencing with 22,000 RNA genes along with cancer-related pathogens, bacteria, viruses and fungi analysis run on every patient provides the most comprehensive and clinically relevant DNA and RNA profiling available on the market.

Caris is also advancing precision medicine with Caris MAI^™ (Molecular Artificial Intelligence) that combines its innovative service offerings, Caris Molecular Intelligence^® with its proprietary artificial intelligence analytics engine, DEAN^™, to analyze the whole exome, whole transcriptome and complete cancer proteome. This information, coupled with mature clinical outcomes on thousands of patients, provides unmatched molecular solutions for patients, physicians, payers and biopharmaceutical organizations.

Caris Pharmatech is changing the paradigm and streamlines the clinical trial process by assisting biopharma companies with accessing research-ready oncology sites for clinical trials. With over 200 research sites within the Caris Pharmatech JIT Oncology Network, biopharma companies can identify and enroll more patients, faster. Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time Clinical Trial Solutions focus on rapid site activation and patient enrollment to streamline the drug development process. By implementing a Just-In-Time (JIT) Research System, site activation and patient enrollment is achievable within 14 days for pre-registered locations with pre-qualified patients.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences has offices in Phoenix, Denver, New York, and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About Penn State Cancer Institute
On the campus of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Cancer Institute is committed to fighting cancer on every front: through education and prevention, early detection and diagnosis, effective treatment, and survivorship programs. Clinical services are offered in three locations in central Pennsylvania – State College (through a partnership with Mount Nittany Health), Hershey and Reading (at Penn State Health St. Joseph). The Cancer Institute provides cutting-edge cancer treatments including robotics-assisted surgery, bone marrow transplantation, CAR-T and cancer immunotherapies, precision therapy as well as specialized radiation oncology MRI-guided linear accelerator technology. The Cancer Institute has three scientific programs focusing on the themes of Cancer Control, Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis and Next Generation Therapies. State-of-the-art cancer clinical trial treatments are also provided through the Clinical Trials Office of the Cancer Institute. The Cancer Institute also works closely with the Penn State Institute of Personalized Medicine and the Neurosciences Institute in advancing state-of-the-art cancer care and research. Additionally, pediatric cancer research led by faculties at Penn State Children’s Hospital and Penn State College of Medicine is a very visible part of Penn State Cancer Institute and greatly benefits from THON and Four Diamonds.

Caris Life Sciences Media Contact:
Lindsey Bailys
GCI Health
lindsey.bailys@gcihealth.com 
212-798-9884

Penn State Cancer Institute Media Contact:
Barbara Schindo
bschindo@pennstatehealth.psu.edu 
717-531-6101 (office)
717-424-2304 (cell)

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/penn-state-cancer-institute-joins-caris-life-sciences-precision-oncology-alliance-301117556.html

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences