Archive for June 2021
Machine learning helps to develop a blood test that can identify 50 different types of cancer
Diagnostic tool being piloted by NHS England shows ‘impressive results’ in spotting tumours in early stages The test, developed by US-based company Grail, looks for chemical changes in fragments of genetic code – cell-free DNA (cfDNA) – that leak from tumours into the bloodstream The test correctly identified when cancer was present in 51.5% of…
Read MoreReal-world evidence (RWE) is key to accelerating oncology approvals
RWE has emerged as a valuable complementary resource to provide information beyond what is learned from randomized clinical trials Advances in technology and analytics are enabling real-world data to be gathered in real time and analyzed to help make clinical, payer, policy, and regulatory decisions The capability of RWE to create a more robust view…
Read MoreTreating cancer with messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines
mRNA vaccines have emerged more recently and have been headlined with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19. Knowing exactly which mutations an individual’s cancer carries could allow scientists to develop mRNA vaccines specific to their particular cancer. Customising treatment in this way, whether for cancer or other diseases, is known as personalised medicine. “The…
Read MoreRheumatology real-world evidence studies are clinically important, but require careful interpretation
Real-world evidence studies such as a recent study by Fisher (1) examining the persistence of JAK1/3 inhibitor tofacitinib in patients with RA compared to the persistence of bDMARD of a large, retrospective new user cohort from in a research database, are informative but require cautious interpretation because findings are dependent on a variety of medical…
Read MoreRoche, BC Cancer & CPHIN collaborate to generate real-world evidence
This collaboration, called Precision Oncology Evidence Development in Cancer Treatment, or PREDiCT, aims to generate and assess real-world evidence, and with this data influence the development of new reimbursement pathways for precision oncology therapies Biomarker-informed precision oncology drugs are often indicated for rare subpopulations of cancer patients, making traditional analyses difficult – PREDiCT will encourage…
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