UK. The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity has released the results of its ‘FOrMAT Study’, which focused on the breakthrough technology of new DNA sequencing techniques called Next Generation Sequencing (NGS).
NGS allows tumours to be rapidly investigated and assessed, thus aiding doctors to provide a more precise diagnosis and prescribe personalised therapy plans with highly targeted drugs.
In 2013 The Moodie Report Foundation* donated US$200,00 to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to help fund the study. The money was raised via a combination of direct funding by Moodie International and tremendous support from the travel retail industry.
The charity said the study had been successful in establishing the basis for a fast and efficient means of matching patients with the drugs that are targeted to their cancer.
“This has the potential to routinely personalise each patient’s treatment plan with more effective therapies, so that they can enjoy a future beyond cancer,” the charity noted.
The results and samples collected will also be “vital to future studies and clinical trials involving genetic sequencing and targeted drugs”, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity said.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity is a world-leading cancer centre that aims to pioneer new treatments that save lives. It aims to use its research to provide the best in diagnosis, treatment and care for its patients.
*NOTE: When Martin Moodie bought back Moodie International in 2015 (later to be joined by Dermot Davitt as a shareholder), The Moodie Report Foundation (based in Switzerland) was wound up after all funds had been used in major donations.
The two major recipients were The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, which received a US$250,000 donation to advance two major research projects into the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. The Moodie Report Foundation was funded by large donations from Moodie International UK and Swiss shareholders of the time and by generous donations from members of the travel retail community.
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