Dr. Dean Regier, scientist, BC Cancer Agency, will use the support from his Strategic Priority Fund award to embark on his Personalized Onco-Genomics focused research project, entitled Resource and Health Impact of Personalized Oncogenomics.
Project Summary
Cancer is a genetic disease. It is caused by mutations in the DNA of genes that control how cells grow and develop. The term “genome” refers to the complete set of DNA. Recent innovations allow us to examine the entire cancer genome. This knowledge can inform therapy that targets mutations to kill a patient’s cancer. The Personalized Onco-Genomics (POG) Program of BC uses whole genome analysis (WGA) to inform therapy for patients with treatment-resistant cancers. WGA is expensive. In budget-constrained health systems, decision-makers want to know that the cost of adopting WGA is met with improved patient health.
Dr. Regier and team’s goal is to support healthcare decisions by generating evidence on the patient and economic impacts of POG-guided cancer treatment. To achieve this, we will ask POG patients about the value they attach to genomic knowledge and its health outcomes. This information will be combined with cost and health outcomes to inform the cost-effectiveness of POG vs. current care.
“BC’s Personalized Onco-Genomics (POG) program is a leader in precision care for patients with incurable cancers. I’m excited about this award because it will allow us to understand the patient-centred impact of POG – in particular, we will look the quality of life impact of POG-guided care compared to its cost,” says Dr. Regier. “This research is crucial because it will support the implementation of POG into our healthcare system.”
