Sydney, Australia – August 21, 2024

This week, not-for- profit genomics pioneer, Omico, commences a first-of-its kind national educational initiative to provide Australians with advanced, incurable or poor prognosis cancers an increased understanding of the power of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) and precision oncology as a genuine component of an advanced cancer management plan.

The initiative has been created to bridge the awareness and literacy challenges surrounding the complexity of the significant technological advances and innovative treatment options now available through genomics. It also seeks to offer hope by showcasing how precision oncology can open up new treatment options and help to extend lives for those with challenging cancers.

The ‘Meet the People that Matched’ campaign features four courageous stories of those with advanced cancer diagnoses who have benefited from Omico’s comprehensive genomic profiling and matching to targeted treatments – largely through clinical trials.

They each present very personal insights and considerations on their own genomic profiling and clinical trial experiences and provide guidance on how to actively discuss the options effectively with an oncologist or cancer care team.

“We are extremely proud of this key initiative that we hope gives the community a greater understanding of the importance of comprehensive genomic screening and clinical trials of emerging and matched treatments. We are incredibly grateful to the four amazing individuals and their families who shared their challenging stories so openly and honestly with us,” states Professor David Thomas, Chief Science and Strategy Officer at Omico, and Director, Centre of Molecular Oncology, UNSW.

The campaign centres around a series of Omico resources for the cancer community, family members and carers, covering a number of important areas, including:

• What Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) is, and what it can provide
• What is involved with clinical trials and the role they play
• Raising and discussing CGP and precision oncology with an oncologist
• Guidance on eligibility for Omico’s Cancer Screening Program (CaSP) and what is involved.

“As an organisation, Omico is committed to ensuring those facing challenging cancers are actively informed of all options available to improve their care and outcomes. We know that most, if not all those living with cancer do not want to leave a stone unturned that might lead to better outcomes – so we hope this campaign equips them well to consider genomics effectively and constructively with their oncology team,” adds Ian Black, CEO Omico.

Evidence supporting the essential role of genomics in the management of advanced cancers continues to build at a local and global level. A retrospective analysis of data from Omico’s MoST (Molecular Screening and Therapeutics Study) program, found more than a third of patients (37.5%) carried biomarkers in their cancer with good clinical evidence for therapeutic benefit.

In the first 3,383 patients enrolled onto MoST, patients who accessed matched therapies based on these biomarkers had a median survival time that was double that of patients receiving unmatched therapy.¹

Data collected to date by Omico across its initiatives from referrals of more than 15,000 patients has found almost three out of four (73%) of this difficult-to-treat cancer community have an actionable genetic biomarker identified within their cancer, providing information and potential for matching to advanced, potentially life-extending, personalised treatments that would otherwise remain unexplored. ²

“We hope this campaign will help to forge strong patient and community recognition of the significant role precision oncology plays and create active conversations between patients and their oncologist that ensure it’s applied early. That will be a very successful outcome,” adds Professor Thomas.

The ‘Meet the People that Matched’ initiative is seeking to ensure over 30,000 Australians are able to utilise free CGP opportunities available nationally through Omico’s Cancer Screening Program (CaSP) by the end of 2025. To date, over 15,000 people have been referred by over 800 clinicians.

‘Meet the People that Matched’ will run from August to December 2024. It is supported by a range of resources, developed with the help and guidance from patients, advocacy groups and oncologists. The resources include a Patient Information Booklet, FAQs for clinicians and patients, videos of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers sharing their experience, an online CaSP referral form for clinicians, and access to an expert-led educational webinar for patients, their families and communities.

Join Omico advancing cancer care

Omico is inviting all stakeholders, including patients, carers, healthcare professionals, and the wider community to help build awareness and understanding of the latest advances in precision oncology by viewing and sharing the ‘Meet the People that Matched’ campaign.

‘Meet the People that Matched’ can be viewed at:  https://www.omico.com.au/patients-and-families/. The campaign will also be shared via social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

For further information, contact the Omico team at contact@omico.org.au or call 1800 954 350.

 

Issued on behalf of Omico by Cube. Contact: Anne-Marie Sparrow, 0417 421 560 / anne-marie@cube.com.au or Nicole Birch, 0423 916 330 / nicole@cube.com.au

 

Notes for editors:

Precision oncology involves using genomic technology to detect the unique genetic and molecular variations in a person’s cancer that drive its growth, in order to identify clinical trials of new targeted treatments that can specifically address those variations to improve patient outcomes.

Omico (www.omico.com.au) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation leading the use of ‘precision oncology’ to turn the tide on cancer in Australia. The unique Omico network of researchers, clinicians, hospitals and industry partners is accelerating community access to the latest developments – comprehensive genomic profiling and next-generation treatments. Omico is a nation-wide organisation and is proud that every state and territory is represented by its Members and Participants, as follows:-

• Linear Clinical Research Limited (WA)

• Central Adelaide Local Health District (SA)

• Northern Territory of Australia (NT)

• Department of Health, The State of Tasmania (Tas)

• Garvan Institute of Medical Research (NSW)

• The University of Sydney represented by NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (NSW)

• The Australian Capital Territory represented by ACT Health (ACT)

• Metro South Hospital and Health Services, represented by Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)

• Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (VIC)

References:

1. Genomic therapy matching in rare and refractory cancers: Updated results from a retrospective cohort study in the Molecular Screening and Therapeutic (MoST) program. (2023) FPY Lin, S Thavaneswaran, CE Napier, JP Grady, M Kansara et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology 41 (16_suppl), 1540-1540 presented at ASCO 2023.

2. Omico data on file.