Genomic Testing should be the FIRST test, not the LAST!
She said that eventually, getting this test done FIRST will be 'the norm' ..... but as of now - it is not 'readily available' to everyone, with out paying a fairly high price, in our case, it was $3000.
In the Sunday Telegraph this weekend, there was a 3 page article on women with metastatic breast cancers who are NOT able to access some life saving (or life prolonging) immunotherapy drugs on PBS, as they've not been approved for Breast Cancer - but have been for Lung cancer and Melanomas (eg Keytruda.). If you know anyone with a copy of the paper - it is well worth a read too.
There was a separate article on the Garvan Institute in Sydney who DO do genomic testing - and is an interesting read. (Sorry it is a bit fuzzy ..... but I hope you can read it.) They were conducting trials last year whereby they made the testing available either free or a nominal $350, which enabled a lot of patients to be tested, who otherwise would not have been able to afford it. The trial ended earlier this year. Our Onc had submitted some of her patients for it.
My husband's genomic tests came back showing 2 drugs may be helpful with his treatment that are currently in use in the USA - but sadly they are not approved in Australia, so we are unable to access them for his treatment. :(
IF the Gov comes to the party and makes this testing more available to cancer patients - it will be fantastic, as new Clinical Trials that should include BC patients - should spring up everywhere!
You can contact him on: d.thomas@garvan.org.au
I contacted him and this is part of his reply:
Omico has enabled more than 3,000 Australians with incurable cancers, and no other standard options, to access genomic screening, and about one in five of those to access matched therapy. We know from our data, and that being produced internationally, that this translates into clinical benefits, including longer life. But we have resources currently only for 2-4% of those who could benefit from screening. We know we have to change that.
We are trying to develop a private-public partnership between government and the pharmaceutical sector. We ask the government to provide genomic screening for all cancer patients with incurable disease, and we ask industry to bring more cancer trials of new drugs to Australia. In this way, we solve the major problem, which is not screening, it is treatment. This is no doubt something very clear to you. If we can bring not only the tests but also matched treatments, without causing people out of pocket expenses, we have a sustainable model for precision oncology for Australians today.
Despite being non-profit, Omico has worked very hard at developing industry relationships, primarily so we can develop new trials for our patients. Our experience has been overwhelmingly positive. This leads us to believe that we can create the PPP described above. We have developed and submitted a business proposal to the Federal government, based on economic modelling and discussions with industry. We hope that they will see that the PPP will allow the commonwealth to take the bold step to provide all Australians with genomic testing and matched therapy, without breaking the bank. Health and the economy are seen as polar opposites—but that isn’t necessarily the case. Our modelling indicates that we not only screen 80,000 Australians, and save almost 3,000 years of life for cancer patients, but we create 3,000 new jobs in the high tech sector, and inject $2.8B of value into the economy from foreign direct investment or saved health care costs.
