MD Anderson and Philips collaborate to facilitate personalized oncology treatments and clinical trial matching based on genomic markers

HOUSTON and AMSTERDAM, Netherlands ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Royal Philips today announced a collaboration to provide oncologists with evidence-based therapy and clinical trial guidance through Philips’ oncology informatics solutions and MD Anderson’s Precision Oncology Decision Support (PODS) system. This collaboration will allow physicians around the world to personalize therapy based on the patient’s genomic profile, with the aim of improving patient care.

MD Anderson developed the PODS system as an evidence-based tool to facilitate therapeutic decision-making at the point of care. The system provides actionable clinical information, including approved therapies and available clinical trials, based upon genetic alterations within the tumor. Through the Philips solutions, clinicians receive a unified view of therapies and clinical trials in the context of their patient’s unique tumor, helping them make an evidence-based decision for their patient’s treatment.

“We developed PODS to enable physicians to better understand and act on genetic variations within each patient’s tumor, making it easier to provide the best treatments possible,” said Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D., chair of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson. “Through our collaboration with Philips, we hope to share our clinical experience with physicians around the world and contribute to improving care for patients globally.”

Today, pathologists and oncologists are faced with the challenges of keeping abreast of the increasing number of therapy options and the rapid advances in genomic testing, the molecular findings of which require increasingly specialized expertise to interpret. The growing amount of evidence for newly approved targeted and immune-oncology therapies necessitates solutions to simplify the complexity. Philips and MD Anderson aim to help pathologists and oncologists serve their patients and provide them with therapeutic options and relevant clinical trials based on tumor markers.

“Driven by the latest therapy breakthroughs, a deeper understanding of cancer biology and an increasing number of clinical trials, oncology practices can provide more options than ever for many patients,” said Louis Culot, General Manager of Oncology Informatics at Philips. “Broadening our long-standing collaboration with MD Anderson, Precision Oncology Decision Support becomes available to physicians through the Philips oncology informatics solution, providing the latest actionable information that supports their confident clinical decision-making.”

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About MD Anderson The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 51 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No.1 for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey. It has ranked as one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer care since the survey began in 1990, and has ranked first 15 times in the last 18 years. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

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