SERVICES
A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Navigating treatment options can feel confusing. My goal is to work together with you, and empower you to take charge of your health journey. Here is what you can expect from a Personalized Cancer Medicine oncology consultation
IN DEPTH MOLECULAR PROFILING
A molecular diagnosis allows us to develop an engineering-level insight into the mechanistic drivers and determinants of each patient's cancer.
The goal is to develop such a detailed and intimate understanding of how a web of dysregulated pathways can lead to malignancy, and identify the key nodes to be targeted to cause complete collapse of the malignant network. I call this understanding 'network consciousness', a prerequisite to being able to target cancer effectively.
In the most fortunate cases, patients with lethal diseases can achieve complete and sustained remission.
In principle, it may be possible to have such an impact against the disease that the malignant network does not recover.
To achieve this, a comprehensive multiomic analysis of your cancer's molecular abnormalities will be undertaken.
Multiomic refers to:
- Genomic assessment of DNA abnormalities characterized by mutations, chromozome number aberrations, and epigenetic dysregulation
- Transcriptomic assessment of RNA abnormalities involving gene expression, gene fusions, and splicing irregularities
- Proteomic assessment of enzymatic activation, location, and expression level.
Such analysis creates a detailed picture of your cancer's
Complex Adaptive Network Capable of Evolving Resistance,
ie., C.A.N.C.E.R.
IMMUNOTHERAPY CONSULTATION
Immunotherapy allows the body’s immune system to eradicate cancer. When successful, cure of advanced metastatic diseases can be achieved. On the other hand, patients who get cancer already have a disease that has learned to evade the immune system. Molecular diagnosis can reveal the mechanisms of immune evasion and potential strategies for overcoming immune evasion. This includes consideration of neoepitope vaccine, checkpoint inhibitors, microbiome cultivation, NK cells, CAR T cells, oncoviral therpies, and other emergent therapies.
PERSONALIZED TREATMENT PLAN
Meeting the Therapeutic Imperative: Network-Targeting Combination Therapy (NTCT)
Based on molecular diagnosis, and given the complexity and uniqueness of most cancers, a personalized bespoke approach to targeting key nodes in the malignant network is utilized. This plan may include conventional therapies like chemotherapy or radiation, and also targeted oncology drugs (tyrosine knase inhibitors), re-purposed non-oncology drugs, and plant-based medicines in sutations where a target of interest has no pharmaceutical remedy but nature provides a solution. Tailor made combination therapy is implemented to exploit the vulnarabilities in the network and its drivers of therapeutic resistance.
CLEAR COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION
Clear and open communication is crucial for implementing novel treatmenet approaches. The patient will be be offered the opportunity to master basic concepts about their cancer's unique biology in order to participate in the decision making and implementation of NTCT. This permits a working relationship or partnership needed to make informed decisions and fulfill your treatment plan. Wherever possible, engagment of the patient's local oncology resources will be undertaken to build a team approach.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IN PRECISION MEDICINE
Extraordinary success in targeting individual oncogene drivers has given precision medicine an historic breakthrough, but one limited to only about 9-10% of cancer patients. In the other 90% of cases, the complexity of the cancer that evolves from genomic instability cannot be solved by targeting single oncogenes. However, the latest advancements in molecular diagnosis and computational biological modeling can identify signaling pathways, master regulators, and synthetic lethal partners that make it possible to target the core dependencies and vulnerabilites in your cancer. This approach aims to maximize treatment effectiveness and minimize side effects.
“Moleculer diagnosis has arrived at an inflection point in the history of medicine: while the uniqueness of each patient’s cancer has been an obstacle to finding a single cure for patients diagnosed with a particular type of cancer, we can now hope to understand that uniqueness to develop patient-centric therapy design that can capitalize upon what is unique to defeat the individual’s cancer.”
Michael Castro, M.D, Board Certified Neuro-Oncologist and Medical Oncologist
Together, we can create a treatment plan that offers the greatest chance of success while empowering you to take an active role in your journey towards health.