Intermountain Healthcare serves more Utah cancer patients than any other health
provider, with medical outcomes significantly better than the national average. Our
Oncology Clinical Program looks at proven, leading-edge cancer treatment techniques
and technologies, combined with a team approach to care, to provide optimal care
for patients.
Precision genomics is a robust part of our Oncology Clinical Program, holding
tremendous promise for cancer patients in Utah and across the nation. “We’re
translating science into medicine,” said Lincoln Nadauld, MD, PhD, executive
director of Intermountain Precision Genomics. “That’s what precision genomics
really is—taking basic scientific principles that are transformative and then trying to
leverage those into better treatments and better outcomes for patients. That’s what
Intermountain Healthcare has a real skill at doing. And it’s completely exciting and
thrilling to be part of it.”
More than 75 percent of patients with advanced-stage cancer
have additional treatment options through precision genomics
Intermountain’s Precision Genomics physicians and scientific experts
have built the infrastructure and processes to sequence the DNA of
individual tumors and evaluate which specific mutations might be
making a cancer grow. Providers locally, nationally, and internationally
order testing and treatment for cancer patients. For more than 75
percent of patients with advanced-stage cancer, Intermountain is able
to identify actionable mutations and offer patients additional treatment
options. These are mainly oral-targeted therapies given as a pill that
patients can take at home with fewer side effects and often at the same
or less cost than traditional chemotherapy.
Additional developments:
- The new Intermountain Precision Genomics Cancer Research Clinic on the Intermountain Medical Center campus
offers qualified patients access to the latest clinical trials
and investigational drugs and opens up precision genomics
possibilities throughout the Intermountain system.
- Intermountain is participating as an early adopter of the
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) CancerLinQ program, the nation’s largest leading cancer informatics
program.
- The Obama Administration is including Intermountain in
its efforts to fight cancer, including the “moonshot” initiative
seeking to cure cancer.
- Intermountain is developing a robust cancer immunology
program, which looks at interactions between the immune
system and cancer. This team will develop genetic markers to
predict which immunotherapies could be most effective for
treating and slowing tumor growth.
The collective result of Intermountain’s renowned precision genomics
efforts shines a bright spotlight of opportunity on today and for the
future.