FOCUS ON : RESEARCH
Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository Launches Inaugural Research Study
Much of our current information about how to treat cancer comes from clinical trials ; however , there are limits to what we can learn from trials alone .
onan Kelly , MD , chief of oncology at Baylor Scott & White Charles A . Sammons Cancer Center and the W . W . Caruth , Jr . Chair in Immunology at Baylor University Medical Center , describes what is missing from the current approach to cancer research . “ Less than 10 % of adults with cancer participate in clinical trials , but we gain all of our cancer knowledge from this small population of our society . They also tend to be younger and have fewer comorbidities than most people with cancer . We need a different approach .”
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute ( BSWRI ), the research arm of Baylor Scott & White Health , is marking two years since establishing the Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository ( TIOB ), a
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Through the TIOB , BSWRI is able to carefully collect biospecimen samples from a large and uniquely diverse patient population and safely make the samples available for cancer research . The objectives are to help scientists more closely examine the microscopic nuances that can change how one patient might respond to immunotherapy compared with another , as well as investigate other personalized modifications that could potentially improve the effectiveness of an immunotherapy .
“ Sometimes treatments don ’ t work . With the TIOB , we have the opportunity to go back and ask why these treatments didn ’ t work . Is there something that we could do just a little bit differently ? How many drugs out there might work if we just had some more information ? And even if patients do respond , is there a way to make this response better ?” said Dr . Kelly .
Since its inception in October 2020 , the TIOB has more than doubled in size and scope , expanding from covering five cancers to now collecting samples for 15 different cancer indications . It has also grown from two locations to now involving patients at seven different Baylor Scott & White sites .
These successes in the first two years helped lay the groundwork for Baylor Scott & White ’ s newest endeavor with the TIOB , a multiyear lung cancer study in collaboration with OncoHost , a commercial-stage precision oncology company , and the Translational Genomics Research Institute ( TGen ), part of City of Hope , a nonprofit biomedical research center .
Through the TIOB and OncoHost ’ s PROphet ® platform , a plasma-based , proprietary proteomic analysis tool , this new study will analyze resistance mechanisms in cancer using multiomics tools including proteomics , single cell analysis , Ct-DNA , and microbiome analysis combined with bioinformatics and machine learning tools . A comprehensive analysis will be conducted on lung cancer patients at various stages of the disease , analyzing elements such as the host response , the patient ’ s microbiome , tumor
DNA and immune system activity . Testing will look at the patient ’ s urine , blood , stool , tissue , cells , DNA , RNA and proteins . The trial will include some 350 patients who will receive follow-ups for up to five years .
“ Immunotherapy — using one ’ s own immune system to recognize , attack and kill cancer cells — is the ultimate example of personalized medicine ,” said Dr . Kelly , who serves as principal investigator of the study . “ We are continuously exploring ways to learn from each patient we treat . With this study , we ’ ll add to the global effort to better understand what is happening to a patient ’ s immune system at multiple time points throughout their journey with cancer and what if any is the impact of subsequent cancer treatments .”
The TIOB ’ s scope , scale and opportunity for impact has resulted in generous support from forward-thinking philanthropic funders who helped launch and grow this effort . Continued donor support will be crucial to further expand the reach and impact of this research . For more information on how you can support the TIOB , please contact Christina Goodman at 214.820.4408 or
Christina . Goodman @ BSWHealth . org .
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THE COMPASS / BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE FOUNDATION NEWS / SPRING 2023