NantHealth to support UC San Francisco breast cancer research efforts

Julie Spitzer -

NantHealth will provide its GPS Cancer molecular analysis tests to support a research study initiated by UC San Francisco that explores the molecular basis of patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer.

The study will be co-led by Hope Rugo, MD, and Denise Wolf, PhD. Its goal is to implement a molecular profiling pilot — directed toward women with metastatic breast cancer — which will create a workflow dedicated to comprehensive profiling to support clinical decision making, benefits participants by evaluating 'actionable' biomarkers and records whether results were useful and impacted care.

"We understand that every patient responds to treatment differently, making it imperative for us to develop effective, personalized treatment options to fight stage IV breast cancer. My team and I are looking forward to this study and are confident that we will have a better understanding of how molecular profiling plays into physicians' treatment decisions," Dr. Rugo said.

NantHealth's GPS Cancer tests reaped $1 million in revenue for the company, which is led by billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, in its third quarter.

Dr. Soon-Shiong, however, faced criticism last month for reportedly boosting sales of the tests by citing positive experiences from three physicians with financial ties to one of his biotech companies. On a November 2017 earnings call, he spoke about a "physician in Sarasota, Florida who has now shared with me personally how this has affected how he treats patients." 

He added the physician, Steve Mamus, MD, achieved an excellent result with one lung cancer patient who used the test and that GPS Cancer "is not just a flurry of useless information."

Dr. Mamus, however, began work as a paid consultant for Dr. Soon-Shiong two months earlier.

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