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Transforming Cancer Treatment
Treating cancer isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Researchers at Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work are working on using a new functional precision medicine approach to guide personalized cancer therapies in real-time.
Functional Precision Medicine Advantage
FIU cancer researcher Diana Azzam and her lab collaborated with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and conducted a first-of-its-kind clinical trial to guide personalized treatments for some of the deadliest children’s cancers using a unique functional precision medicine (FPM) approach.
As part of the trial, researchers analyzed and exposed samples of patients' own tumor tissue to more than 120 FDA-approved drugs. Researchers provided the patients’ physicians with the most effective cancer-fighting recommendations for their specific diagnosis.
According to the feasibility study’s results, published in Nature Medicine, 83% of patients who received guided treatments showed improvement. This method provided safer, more readily accessible, effective and affordable options to doctors.
83%
Patients who received guided treatments showed improvement.
Patient Spotlight
Logan Jenner was three years old when doctors diagnosed him with acute myeloid leukemia. After years of treatment, his cancer returned. Out of treatment options, he became a candidate for Azzam’s clinical trial.
As a trial participant, a sample of his tumor was tested to determine which medications were most effective against his cancer. Those tests guided his treatment, and in 33 days, he reached remission and remains cancer-free today, more than two years later.
Advancing Precision Medicine Research
The Azzam Lab is continuing its cancer research and actively recruiting participants for additional clinical studies in Florida, seeking to demonstrate that functional precision medicine is a viable approach to treating cancer.
- Recruiting
Ex Vivo Drug Sensitivity Testing and Multi-Omics Profiling
This study will explore the feasibility of providing access to personalized treatment options and clinical management recommendations based on FPM to pediatric cancer patients.
Principal Investigators:
Diana Azzam, Florida International University
Maggie Fader, MD, Nicklaus Children's Hospital - Recruiting
FPM for the Treatment of Adult Cancers
Trial participants will undergo drug sensitivity tests and genomic screening. Treating physicians will receive testing results to determine the most appropriate treatment for each patient.
Principal Investigators:
Diana Azzam, Florida International University
Jorge Manrique-Succar, MD, Cleveland Clinic Florida
About the Azzam Lab
Diana Azzam, assistant professor at Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, and her team of researchers at the Azzam Lab study advanced cancers through:
- Functional precision medicine
- Investigating the cells responsible for cancer relapse and metastasis
- Examining environmental toxins that can lead to cancer
Get to Know Stempel College
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work is home to innovative research programs and centers powered by faculty, staff, and students who parse problems to find answers at an accelerated pace. Stempel College ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 15 overall for NIH funding among public schools of public health. Our unique geography at the intersection of the Americas in Miami, Florida, drives us to solve complicated health and social welfare matters afflicting the most underserved populations.
