Precision medicines, including biomarker-driven therapeutics, have transformed patient care and reduced cancer mortality. But access to molecular testing and matched precision medicines remains inadequate in community settings. This is especially true for underserved populations and people who live in remote or rural areas. Such inequities prevent access to clinical trials, a critical step in translating scientific discoveries to improved outcomes.
To address this situation, the program aims to provide liquid biopsy technology and molecular profiling to underserved areas by leveraging a hub-and-spoke model (a central academic “hub” coordinating with more widespread “spokes” where patients receive care in the community) of collaboration.
The following initiatives demonstrate key efforts to date:
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US-Australia Cancer Alliance: A public-private partnership leveraging important findings from a pilot study by MSK and Agilent Technologies, in partnership with GenesisCare Australia, demonstrated that early access to liquid biopsy to guide therapy improved overall survival for patients. Efforts for this international collaboration were catalyzed by a generous donation by Mr. Gregory John Poche and Mrs. Kay Van Norton Poche to both MSK and Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) in Sydney, Australia. MSK and RNSH are collaborating to expand international research and development infrastructure to improve access to clinical trials and accelerate technology and biomarker development.
- The International Fellowship Endowment of the Van Norton Poche initiative supports trainees from Australia who will care for patients and conduct research at MSK. We are also working to create a pipeline for scholars from MSK to visit labs in Australia.
- MSK Collaboration in R&D with Hospital Sírio-Libanês (HSL): Brazil ranks 19th globally in oncology clinical trial participation, despite its large size and diverse population. This highlights a significant gap in research in the region. In Brazil, three-quarters of the population relies solely on the public system for healthcare, yet disparities persist across regions and income groups. The MSK-HSL collaboration aims to enhance access to clinical trials and precision oncology for cancer patients receiving care under the public health care system by developing a hub-and-spoke system for research. The implementation of this network seeks to streamline and expedite patient referrals to appropriate clinical trials. Additionally, we aim to provide access to molecular tests through liquid biopsies (including MSK-ACCESS®).
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International Molecular Tumor Boards (MTBs):
- In collaboration with HSL, we contribute leadership to the Latin American MTB. Meetings bring together a multidisciplinary team of experts to analyze complex cancer cases across specialties and discuss the latest in precision medicine. Beyond MSK and HSL, collaborators include Catholic University of Chile and Sociedad de Lucha Contra el Cáncer del Ecuador.
- We lead a virtual MTB with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to facilitate discussions between institutions with the objective of driving awareness and adoption of biomarker testing and improving decision-making in precision oncology. Given the growing need in the GCC to enhance access to multidisciplinary expertise and international best practices in precision oncology, we are collaborating with two of the leading oncology centers regionally, Burjeel Cancer Institute in the United Arab Emirates, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.