Precision Oncology Interest Group

Cancer is a constellation of diseases typified by the uncontrolled accumulation of cells. Given the diversity of the cell types that can be transformed, cancer can affect nearly every tissue and organ, and taking into account the variety of genetic variations, epigenetic influences, and environmental factors that drive the development of tumors, one quickly appreciates that any given cancer is essentially a patient-specific disease. From this perspective, precision in the treatment of cancer is essential in providing the best care for patients.

The goals of the Precision Oncology Interest Group (POIG) are:

Short term:

To discuss, plan, implement and execute the current CCR initiative to perform standardized genomic analyses (RNA-SEQ, exome-SEQ, methylation analysis) on a large cohort of NCI patients, with the goal of using these data to drive collaborative predictive and prognostic biomarker discovery and precision therapy strategies for improving patient outcomes.

Long term:

To discuss and implement best sample acquisition and management practices to learn the most from any precious patient material.
To discuss and implement the best technologies and informatics to help us discover candidates for targeted therapies with the goal of maximizing favorable outcomes for oncology patients.
To rationally design clinical trials in oncology with a focus on precise therapies that have the potential to maximize benefit and minimize side effects.

The POIG, and its attendant listserv, will aim to foster effective communication across the basic and clinical research oncology communities, to harness the translational powers of the NIH to advance precision therapy across cancers.

This POIG effort, initially proposed by Dr. Brigitte Widemann, will be co-led by Drs. Kenneth Aldape, Padma (Sheila) Rajagopal, Eytan Ruppin, Antonios Papanicolau-Sengos and Art Shaffer. Most importantly, everyone interested is most welcome and participate and contribute and your suggestions for discussion topics and invited speakers (including yourself, of course) are most welcome!

Mailing List

To join the Precision Oncology Interest Group mailing list, please visit the Precision Oncology Interest Group Listserv home page, then click the “Subscribe or Unsubscribe” link in the right sidebar.