Piedmont Cancer Joins Caris Life Sciences' Precision Oncology Alliance

Piedmont Cancer becomes the 22nd institution to join the Precision Oncology Alliance

News provided by

Apr 24, 2018, 06:30 ET

IRVING, Texas, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences^®, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced that Piedmont Cancer has joined Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance™ (POA) as its 22^nd member and will work with other leading cancer centers to develop standards of care and best practices for the use of tumor profiling, making cancer treatment more precise and effective.

"We are pleased to welcome our colleagues at Piedmont Cancer to the Alliance. Their extensive footprint across Georgia and commitment to improving cancer treatment within each of the communities they serve makes Piedmont a valuable and productive member of our Alliance," said John Marshall, M.D., Director of the Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Chairman of the POA Executive Committee.

The POA, which now consists of 22 academic, hospital and community-based cancer institutions including five NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, is broadening patient access to precision medicine tools and establishing evidence-based standards for tumor profiling and molecular testing in oncology. The POA utilizes Caris Molecular Intelligence^®, Caris' suite of comprehensive genomic and proteomic tumor profiling services, to enable the practice of precision medicine by identifying therapy options and clinical trial opportunities based on the unique molecular characteristics of a patient's tumor. Piedmont Cancer will also actively participate in collecting molecular data and longitudinally tracking outcomes data for those patients that have had their tumors profiled.

"Advancing molecular profiling and precision medicine to identify effective treatments to ultimately improve patient care and survival for each of our cancer patients is an important objective of Piedmont Cancer," said Erin Dunbar, M.D., Medical Director at the Piedmont Brain Tumor Center. "Caris Life Sciences has built a distinguished group of institutions to serve cancer patients through the Precision Oncology Alliance, and we look forward to working with Caris and the other POA members to further advance molecular profiling and precision medicine to make it a standard of care in cancer treatment."

Caris Molecular Intelligence assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular profile to guide more precise and individualized treatment decisions. Based on the unique molecular characteristics of an individual patient's cancer, the results help inform treatment decisions by identifying therapies that have the potential to be most effective and to rule out those that are less likely to work.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences^® is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation, and the world's leading immunotherapy diagnostic expert. Caris Molecular Intelligence^®, the company's Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Plus (CGP+) molecular testing service, assesses DNA, RNA and proteins, including microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutational burden (TMB) and PD-L1, to reveal a molecular blueprint to guide more precise and personalized treatment decisions. Caris' profiling services are routinely covered by third-party payors, including CMS for Medicare patients. The ADAPT Biotargeting System^™, the company's revolutionary and unbiased profiling platform, is currently being utilized for drug target identification, therapeutic discovery and development, fixed tissue-based companion diagnostics, blood-based cancer screening and biomarker identification. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.

About the Precision Oncology Alliance
The Precision Oncology Alliance^™ (POA) was established by Caris Life Sciences^® to promote the study and appropriate use of molecular testing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The POA consists of 22 leading cancer centers, including five NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, that have demonstrated a commitment to precision medicine and work collaboratively toward a common goal: to advance tumor profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology. The POA has produced more than five peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented over 40 posters at industry conferences.

About Piedmont Cancer
Piedmont is a major provider of healthcare in Georgia, operating 11 hospitals, 21 urgent care centers, 28 Piedmont QuickCare locations, and 527 Piedmont Clinic physician practice locations. Piedmont Cancer provides community oncology care for patients across the system, with 8,500 analytic cancer cases each year. Tertiary care sites are located in Athens and Atlanta, and at the John B. Amos Cancer Center in Columbus. For more information contact Piedmont Cancer, 1800 Howell Mill Road, Suite 625, Atlanta, GA. Telephone 404-425-1800.

Media Inquiries:
The Ruth Group
Kirsten Thomas / Joanna Zimmerman
[email protected] / [email protected]
Tel: +1-508-280-6592 / +1-646-536-7006

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences