

Genetic testing for immunotherapies
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Oncologica is a leading laboratory in genetic cancer testing.
We help patients and oncologists to get the maximum benefit from new cancer treatments.
What is Immunotherapy?


Are you interested in knowing which DNA tests are most helpful in identifying the most appropriate immunotherapies.
Powerful therapies with high specificity and low toxicity.
Immunotherapy doesn’t work the same for everyone: in some patients it appears to work incredibility well, completely destroying tumours, for other patients, the response can be less dramatic.
Before assessing whether the patient is eligible for these new treatment options it is therefore essential to first identify whether the patient will benefit from from such therapy.
Immunotherapy-highly effetctive
in patients correctly identified
following Immunofocus testing

A comprehensive DNA test to precisely identify patient’s eligible for immunotherapy
Immunofocus PD-L1, MMR and TMB testing can be applied to the routine tumour biopsy to precisely identify patients who can derive benefit from immunotherapy drugs.


THE PROCESS
Immunotherapy
and DNA
The development of cancer is associated with the acquisition of DNA mutations which also results in the expression of mutated proteins on the surface of cancer cells called neoantigens.
Neoantigens are recognised by the body as foreign leading to an attack on the cancer cells by the patient’s own immune cells.
However some cancers prevent this attack by expressing a protein on their surface called PD-L1 which shields the cancer cells from the immune system.
Anti-PD-L1/PD-1 immunotherapy strips this PD-L1 shield away enabling the immune cells to attack the cancer cells.
Our Support
Limits of
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone: in some patients it appears to work incredibility well, completely destroying tumours even after they have begun to spread around the body, but for other patients the response can be less dramatic.
The different responses to immunotherapy reflect differences in the genetic profile and immunoprofile of each cancer patient.
In some patients the immune system doesnt recognise the cancer cells as foreign due to lack of neoantigens
Tumour Cells with low levels PD-L1 (shielding protein) may not respond to immunotherapy
Other genetic characteristics including mismatch repair genes MMR and tumor mutational burden TMB can also affect a good response to immunotheraphy
How can Oncologica’s genomic profiling be helpful for decisions on immunotherapy?
Oncologica now performs a series of genetic and immunoprofiling tests which helps identify those patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.
Immunofocus MMR and Immunofocus TMB combined with Oncofocus identify cellular changes such as defects in DNA damage repair and immune signalling that flag up tumours sensitive to immunotherapy. Immunofocus TMB provides an assessment of global DNA mutation burden and asssociated neoantigens.
Patients who score positive in these four tests are strong candidates for immunotherapy.

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The immunofocus test can be performed in combination with our most comprehensive test “Oncofocus” that sequences 505 genes capturing 1000s of mutations linked to over 780 targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

Oncologica® is a leading precision oncology certified laboratory based in the prestigious Chesterford Research Park, Cambridge, UK.
Since 2015 we have been helping oncologists and patients every day to get the maximum benefit from new advanced genetic profiling techniques for the treatment of cancer.

A large team of geneticists, pathologists and oncologists for
help patients and treating physicians find a tailor-made cancer therapy through molecular genetics.

CO-FOUNDER AND SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR
BSc PhD

CO-FOUNDER AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR
BSc, MBChB, PhD, FRCPath, FLSW

LEAD CLINICAL SCIENTIST
BSc

Dr Sergio Del Bianco
CLINICAL TEAM – SECOND OPINION
Oncologist

Prof. Giovanni Palazzoni
CLINICAL TEAM – SECOND OPINION
Radiation therapist oncologist

Prof. Umberto Tirelli
CLINICAL TEAM
Oncologist

Dr. Carla Spiga
CLINICAL TEAM – SECOND OPINION
Oncologist

Dr.ssa Eleonora Sanna
CLINICAL TEAM – SECOND OPINION
Oncologist

Dr Alberto Ravaioli
SPECIALIST GENERAL ONCOLOGY
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Get in touch with our clinical team to learn about the benefits of precision oncology.

Note to patients: All contents on this page are for informational purposes. Decisions regarding medical treatments and diagnoses must always be made in consultation with your treating clinician.
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