CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI) today presented new data from more than 1,200 pediatric tumors across 51 cancer subtypes that were analyzed using the company’s comprehensive genomic profiling assays, FoundationOne® and FoundationOne® Heme. The dataset reveals novel and potentially targetable genomic alterations identified during pediatric cancer clinical care that offer the possibility for new research towards novel therapeutics. In a separate but related announcement at the White House Precision Medicine Initiative Summit in February, Foundation Medicine made this data set publically available for research to motivate and accelerate development of new therapies to fight pediatric cancer.
These findings were presented in a late-breaking poster titled “Genomic profiling of 1239 diverse pediatric cancers identifies novel discoveries across tumors” by Juliann Chmielecki, Ph.D., associate director, cancer genomics at Foundation Medicine, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2016 taking place April 16-20 in New Orleans.
The poster presentation details genomic profiles from 1,239 pediatric tumors (ages 0-18). Multiple studies are actively investigating clinically relevant genomic alterations in common tumor subtypes for therapeutic exploitation. As demonstrated by the identification of novel fusions and mutations, this data set offers significant discovery potential and can be used to generate hypotheses, validate rare findings, and investigate the genomic landscape of rare tumors in a pediatric population for which only small studies currently exist. Key findings include:
- Genomic profiles from 51 disease subtypes representing sarcomas (26.6 percent), other blastomas (22.4 percent), brain tumors (20.4 percent), hematological malignancies (19.5 percent), carcinomas (9.8 percent) and gonadal tumors (1.4 percent).
- Alterations with proven clinical actionability in pediatric cancers (BRAF V600E and ALK, NTRK1 and ABL1 fusions) were found in 3.9 percent of samples across brain, sarcoma and hematologic cases.
- Three novel ALK fusions were identified in a neuroblastoma (BEND5-ALK), a soft tissue sarcoma (IGFBP5-ALK) and an astrocytoma (PPP1CB-ALK), respectively. Two novel BRAF fusions were also found in an astrocytoma (BCAS1-BRAF) and a ganglioglioma (TMEM106B-BRAF).
- This large data set also challenges the paradigm of “disease-specific” alterations as previously characterized fusions involving ALK, NTRK1 and PAX3 were observed in novel diseases from which they were originally reported.
Pediatric cancers are a rare and diverse collection of diseases. Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades, with The American Cancer Society estimated 10,380 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease among children. Despite advances in detection and treatment of childhood cancer, over 1,900 pediatric patients in the United States succumb to disease each year.1
About Foundation Medicine
Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ:FMI) is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient's unique cancer. The company's clinical assays, FoundationOne® for solid tumors and FoundationOne® Heme for hematologic malignancies and sarcomas, provide a comprehensive genomic profile to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's cancer and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine's molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).
Foundation Medicine® and FoundationOne® are registered trademarks of Foundation Medicine, Inc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the ability of data collected from comprehensive genomic profiling of pediatric cancers,to support the discovery of precision thereapeutics for pediatric cancers, All such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the risk that the molecular information contained in the pediatric dataset is not suitable for research purposes, the pediatric dataset is not accessible,and the risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Foundation Medicine's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other risks detailed in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Foundation Medicine undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
1 American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org
