National Center for Personalized Oncology

WHY THIS MATTERS

Oncology needs innovation today.‍

Genomics is missing 60% of cancer patients and shows low response rate

Gleevec was approved in 2001. Twenty five years later, genomic treatment is still delivered largely by academic medical centers and large urban hospitals, where roughly 40% of cancer patients are treated.

The 74 NCI-designated cancer centers, the core of that system, register about one in five newly diagnosed patients. The other 60% are treated mostly at community hospitals, which have no reward for adopting a complex new technology and no penalty for ignoring it.

In NCI-MATCH, objective response rates in the subprotocols that met their primary endpoint ranged from 14% to 50%, and some arms reported no responses at all.

Sources: Genomics response rate from (NCI-MATCH).J Clin Oncol. 2020. 74 NCI-designated cancer centers, National Cancer Institute. One-in-five share derived from 411,862 patients newly registered at NCI-designated clinical and comprehensive cancer centers in the most recent reporting period, against 2,114,850 projected new US cases in 2026 - Cancer Facts & Figures 2026, American Cancer Society.

90% of FDA-approved cancer drugs are never tried on most cancers.

Treatment guidelines list roughly 10% of the 300+ FDA-approved cancer drugs for any given cancer. The other 90% are approved by the FDA, but for other cancers.
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10%
On Guideline

90%
Off Guideline

Exclusion from the guidelines for a specific cancer doesn't indicate a drug's ineffectiveness. It simply means it hasn't been clinically tested for that particular cancer.

Functional Precision Medicine addresses this critical access issue by allowing oncologists to test any FDA-approved cancer drug on a patient's living cancer cells.

Sources: drug count - FDA; treatment guidelines - NCCN.

THE INNOVATION

Cancer drugs can now be tested against the patient's own live cancer cells.

This is called Functional Precision Medicine.

This method is particularly beneficial for advanced cancer patients who have exhausted standard treatments. Functional tests can still identify effective therapies among over 300 FDA-approved cancer drugs.

Biopsy

Take the patient's living cancer cells.
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Expose

Put approved cancer drugs on the individual's cells.

Measure

Observe which cancer drugs kill the cells.

Rank

Prioritize cancer drugs by what worked.
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Treat

The oncologist composes a treatment or combination of treatments.

Repeat

When the cancer changes, run the test again.
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Functional Precision Medicine works at any point in treatment, from the last line to the first. Every time a cancer changes, a new test can identify the next cancer drugs.

THE CHALLENGES

Three barriers stand between your patient and the right treatment.
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Scientific evidence

FPM assays change constantly, and interpreting a result takes expertise no community practice keeps on staff. Without a clinical trial behind it, an off-guideline drug needs a clear scientific basis.

Hospital workflows

Standard pathology fixes the specimen in formalin within minutes of the biopsy, which kills the cells. Routing viable tissue to the right laboratory means deciding before the biopsy, coordinating with pathology, and shipping on a clock.

Financial access

Neither the test nor the off-guideline drug is covered by default. Without a scientific basis there is nothing to negotiate with the payer, and no time to find a manufacturer compassionate-use program when payment is denied.

NCPO REMOVES THOSE BARRIERS

NCPO does the research and access work. You select and prescribe. Your patient stays with you.

NCPO provides access to Functional Precision Medicine (FPM), which complements genomics. FPM-based tests expose the patient's living cancer cells to the drugs themselves.

Scientific evidence

NCPO provides a PhD-level staff with expertise in genomic and functional treatment selection tests, including functional precision medicine assays. This involves matching your patient to the right test and providing expert-reviewed evidence reports on potential off-guideline drugs.

Hospital workflows

Each test requires specific details: the type of sample, the volume needed, and the viability window. NCPO guides your pathology department to ensure viable tissue is sent to the correct laboratory, including alternative cell sources such as effusions and marrow aspirates.

Financial access

NCPO prepares medical necessity documentation and prior authorization for your signature. We handle payer negotiations and explore compassionate-use and manufacturer-funded programs if coverage is denied.

This approach is designed to repeat. Functional Precision Medicine (FPM), is not a one-time answer. Each time a cancer progresses, a new test can identify the next candidate drugs. NCPO supports the case at any point in treatment, not only at the end of the line.

NCPO's work is free to the hospital and to the oncologist.

The tests and the drugs are not.
That is the access gap NCPO exists to fill.

BUILT ON A REGISTERED CLINICAL STUDY

CCCS001 (NCT07343024)

CCCS001 (NCT07343024) is a registered, site-less observational study sponsored by Cancer Commons. Patients participate with their own oncologist, with no travel to a trial site. The study measures, and will publish, the predictive accuracy of each treatment selection test, so that the evidence improves over time.

As the treating oncologist, you can administer treatment to the patient at your current hospital. For more information, please visit www.cancercommons.org/CCCS001

ABOUT NCPO

NCPO is guided by leaders in oncology, genomics, diagnostics, and AI.

The National Center for Personalized Oncology is founded by Cancer Commons, a 501(c)(3) public charity that has provided personalized guidance to more than 10,000 cancer patients and works with more than 100 oncologists. NCPO will spin out as an independent 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation. Its work is grounded in a registered, site-less clinical study, CCCS001 (NCT07343024), in which patients participate with their own oncologist.

ADVISORY TEAM

Keith Flaherty, MD

Oncology Advisory Board
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President, American Association for Cancer Research, 2026 to 2027.
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Director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Cancer Center.
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Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

Frank McCormick, PhD

Genomics Advisory Board
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Professor, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Founding Director of the center, 1997 to 2014.

President, American Association for Cancer Research, 2012 to 2013.

Jesse Boehm, PhD

Diagnostics Advisory Board
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Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Break Through Cancer.

Co-President, Society for Functional Precision Medicine.

Principal Investigator, Koch Institute, MIT. Formerly Institute Scientist and Scientific Director of the Cancer Dependency Map, Broad Institute.
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Bill Stasior, PhD

AI Advisory Board
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Former Corporate Vice President of Technology, Microsoft.

Former Vice President of AI, Apple, where he led the development of Siri.

Former President and CEO of A9.com, Amazon's search subsidiary.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Cliff Reid, PhD

Founding Chief Executive Officer
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Founder, Chairman and CEO of Complete Genomics (NASDAQ: GNOM).

Founder, Travera (drug sensitivity testing).
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Three public companies founded.

CEO of Cancer Commons.

Roberto Veronese

Founding Chief Strategy Officer
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Product and go-to-market leadership at Helix, GRAIL and Artera AI, among 15+ other cancer diagnostics companies.

Co-founder and CEO, Openwell (healthcare AI).

Founder of the biotech advisory firm Accelera Bio.

Adrienne Nugent, PhD

Head of Guidance and Treatment Programs
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VP, Operations at Cancer Commons for the past four years.

Former Assistant Director, Somatic Oncology Development, Invitae.

PhD in genetics and genomics, Duke University. Postdoctoral fellowships at NIH and Hampton University.
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Prajit Pillai, PhD

Head of Diagnostics and Access Solutions Programs
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Principal investigator and operational lead for CCCS001 at Cancer Commons.

PhD-trained biopharma scientist.

Eight years at Genentech.

Co-founder, Precision Medicine Diagnostic Partners.

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