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Cancer cells of the same tumor type react differently to certain pharmaceuticals. A chemotherapy that is efficient in one patient and leads to a complete remission of cancer may be inefficient in another patient. An inefficient cancer therapy will unnecessarily incure side effects and costs.

New kinds of technologies offer the opportunity today to analyze the tumor with its molecular characteristics. The molecular analysis of the tumor tissue allows to predict the efficacy of a specific chemotherapy or treatment with targeted drugs with a high reliability. Anticancer compounds developed and approved in the last years are directed against targets that are important for the development and growth of a tumor. These targets include overexpressed oncogenes, activated growth factors (e.g. by mutations) and molecules in signalling pathways that are responsible for tumor growth. Anticancer drugs that were approved recently are e.g. the angiogenesis inhibitor Avastin (which inhibits the formation of blood vessels) or the inhibitors of the EGF sigalling pathway called Erbitux and Erlotinib.

Oncotest is highly experienced in the field of individual testing of tumors and has established more than 200 gene expression patterns each of them consisting of 38,500 genes from patient tumors in the last four years. In addition, we have determined the efficacy of 16 anticancer compounds in 40 to 92 established human tumors. Gene expression patterns of tumors that were sensitive to a certain  treatment were compared with those who were resistant to treatment.

For each compound Oncotest has identified beween 20 to 129 genes, that predict tumor response or resistance to this compound with a high reliability (Fiebig et al 2007, Korrat et al 2007). At the moment we have available gene expression data for 14 classical chemotherapeutics and 2 newly developed pharmaceuticals (Avastin and Erbitux) at Oncotest. By means of bioinformatic analysis we could increase the response rate for Avastin from 30% to 67% for colon-, lung-, breast- and renal cancers. For Erbitux the response rate was increased from 18% to 58% for colon-, lung- and head and neck cancers.

For the prediction of all 16 pharmaceuticals we have developed an Oncochip which consists of 1,600 genes and is which certified according to DIN ISO 170025. On this newly developed Oncochip we can now analyze patient tumors for their gene expression.

However, these predictions must be further validated in prospective clinical trials. We cannot pledge for a tumor response in each individual case.

Documents (in pdf-format)
- Patients and Doctors Information Sheet
- Patient Informed Consent and Ordering
- Medical Requisition Slip

Publications:

Gene Signatures Developed from Patient Tumor Explants Passaged in Nude Mice to Predict Tumor Response to 11 Cytotoxic Drugs.
Cancer Genomics and Proteomics 4: 197 – 210 (2007)
Heinz-Herbert Fiebig, Julia Schüler,  Niko Bausch, Michael Hofmann, Thomas Metz, Andre Korrat 

Gene Signature-Based Prediction of Tumor Response to Cyclophosphamide 
Cancer Genomics and Proteomics  4: 187 – 196 (2007) 
Andre Korrat, Thomas Greiner, Martina Maurer, Thomas Metz, Heinz-Herbert Fiebig