Mouse Avatars: Innovative Approach Holds Promise For Personalizing Cancer Treatment

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for one of every four deaths and nearly 1,600 deaths per day in 2014 according to the American Cancer Society. While there are a plethora of chemotherapeutic drugs available to treat cancer, the genetic and epigenetic variability between the tumors of cancer patients creates significant challenges in accurately predicting which individuals will respond to a specific drug. Despite ongoing efforts to use genomic sequencing to improve patient response to chemotherapy, the personalization of oncology drugs remains limited. Furthermore, 83% of the $1.3 billion cost to successfully bring one drug through the FDA is spent on failed clinical trials due to the inability to predict the likelihood that patients will respond to new treatments.

To improve the success of cancer treatment and clinical trials, Hackensack, NJ-based Champions Oncology Inc. has developed TumorGraft technology,...