Understanding

Initiative for Molecular and Genomic Evaluation of Cancer (IMGEC)

The Initiative for Molecular and Genomic Evaluation of Cancer will expand our collection and analysis of genetic, molecular and clinical data so we can better understand how cancers evolve to resist treatment and the mechanisms that drive its development and growth.

Who: Hank, Kaplan, M.D., Senior Medical & Research Director; Lead, IMGEC Paul G. Allen Research Center at Swedish Cancer Institute

For years we've treated a patient's cancer based on how we thought it would behave over time, based on decades of data and experience treating other patients with the same type of cancer. Now, however, significant advances in DNA and RNA testing make it possible to track an individual tumor's biologic evolution during treatment and offer therapy aimed specifically at that tumor. Through the Initiative for Molecular and Genomic Evaluation of Cancer, today's patients will benefit directly from this timely evaluation of their disease, while future patients could have access to a new generation of treatments born from the insights we're gaining today. We'll build upon the industry-leading breast cancer database which contains unusually detailed clinical information on thousands of breast cancer patients treated at SCI over the past 30 years. IMGEC will expand our collection and analysis of genetic, molecular, and clinical data to several forms of cancer, allowing us to better understand the mechanisms that drive tumor development and growth.