Our Work
Pipeline
Research Pipeline
MiraDx is committed to discovering meaningful ways to better treat cancer in patients with variants like and including the KRAS-variant
We are developing answers by applying our novel class of functional, germline genetic markers in the following areas:
Radiogenomics
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a form of cancer treatment that is used in over two thirds of cancer patients. Although generally radiation is a safe treatment, 5-10% of patients will experience serious side effects from treatment. In addition, some patients respond not only locally to radiation, but also have an immune response that can help them to fight their cancer.
MiraDx is at the forefront in this field, with a leading radiogenomics program, applying our class of microRNA binding site mutations to identify patients that respond differently to radiation. Our first publication on this problem found that patients with the KRAS-variant have a weak immune response to radiation, requiring the addition of cetuximab to help (Jama Oncology, 2016). Additional work in other cancer types, including sarcoma, breast, head and neck, and rectal cancer are ongoing.
Our First Radiogenomics Assay, PROSTOXTM, helps prostate cancer patients avoid toxicity from radiation therapy.
Contact us if you're interested in partnering with us on Radiogenomics.
Cancer systemic therapy
Immunotherapy
While immunotherapy has been a breakthrough in cancer treatment, patients often experience a new type of side effect, referred to as Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAE). We have found that the germline genetic mutations we study at MiraDx can help predict a patient’s risk of iRAEs from immune therapy.
Our first panel, PrevIOTOX, predicts up to a 9 fold increased risk of iRAEs from treatment with anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 therapies currently on the market. If you are interested in PrevIOTOX, please contact us.
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Studies have definitively shown that KRAS-variant head and neck cancer patients respond differently to targeted agents used in standard treatment. Specifically, Cetuximab is an excellent choice for treatment. We are currently working towards additional collaborative studies to better define the time course and dosing to make this the standard of care for these patients.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Physicians and researchers at Yale University have evaluated the association between treatment response for NSCLC patients in the BATTLE trials and the KRAS-variant. Results from these studies suggest that KRAS-variant patients respond to certain drugs, such as Sorafenib, and not others, such as Gefitinib, used in metastatic lung cancer.