Elevating Precision Medicine Across Different Oncologic Populations

At the 3rd Biennial Miami Precision Medicine Conference, CancerNetwork® spoke with a variety of researchers and clinicians who presented on different topics regarding the use of targeted therapies across several cancer types. Faculty from the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center shared key advances and ongoing initiatives across pancreatic cancer, sarcomas, genitourinary malignancies, and other diseases.

First, Jashodeep Datta, MD, an associate professor of surgery, a co-leader of the Gastrointestinal Site Disease Group, an associate director of Translational Research, and Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute DiMare Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy, discussed his presentation on overcoming a historical “moratorium” associated with immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Based on recent data, he noted that current goals include analyzing distinct subpopulations of patients who respond to immunotherapy and understanding the biology of why they respond to inform the design of novel therapeutic approaches. Looking towards the future, Datta described how mRNA vaccines may play a larger role in advancing personalized patient care.

Next, Steven Bialick, DO, a gastrointestinal and sarcoma and connective tissue medical oncologist, spoke about his presentation on diagnosing and treating patients with sarcomas. He highlighted how markers like microsatellite instability-high status may help identify patients who are suitable candidates to receive immunotherapies like pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Overall, he emphasized the practice of thorough molecular testing to help navigate a treatment landscape that has “changed so dramatically” over the years. 

Finally, Jaime Merchan, MD, director of the Phase 1 Program and a tenured professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, talked about his presentation on the development of novel targeted therapies in genitourinary malignancies, which included bladder and kidney cancers. He described strategies for using new HIF-2⍺ inhibitors alongside therapeutic standards like tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Additionally, he detailed how other investigational drug classes, including oncolytic viruses and T-cell engagers, may fit into the treatment paradigm for these genitourinary cancers. 

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