French Late-Stage Cancer Study to Employ Illumina’s CGP Test

A three-center study in France to determine the clinical utility of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) in helping to tailor treatments for late-stage cancer patients will employ Illumina’s TruSight 500 Oncology assay to identify variation in more than 500 that are known or emerging biomarkers of cancer. The CELIA study is designed to provide evidence in support of implementing a precision medicine approach across the French healthcare system of treating late-stage cancer patients.

“CGP is being increasingly used in cancer centers throughout Europe, including France. Our goal is to confirm the clear clinical utility in order to make next-generation sequencing for metastatic cancer more broadly included in European and national clinical guidelines,” said professor Frédérique Penault-Llorca, general director of the Jean Perrin Center, and coordinator of the CELIA study. “Data from the CELIA study will add to the growing body of evidence on CGP, with the aim of accelerating the adoption of precision medicine for cancer patients. We are grateful for Illumina’s contribution to this project.”

The Jean Perrin Center will be joined by two other healthcare organizations in the CELIA study—the Toulouse Oncopole and the Bordeaux University Hospital Center. Together, the three will collect and analyze biopsy samples across a number of different advanced cancers including colorectal, breast, melanoma, and lung and analyze these samples using Illumina’s TruSight test.

Using the information derived from the sample’s CGP, care teams will look to find specific actionable mutations within the sample in order to more precisely choose treatments for these patients. Results of the treatments and the treatment selections will then be compared with standard of care testing, including small panel tests that cover a limited range of biomarkers of interest for each cancer type.

Phil Febbo, MD, chief medical officer at Illumina sees the company’s participation in the study as another important piece of data that can support broader use of CGP in the clinical oncology setting. “By assessing many mutations and biomarkers simultaneously to reveal the unique molecular profile of a tumor, CGP is helping to rapidly deliver actionable insights to patients and physicians, and improve outcomes,” Febbo noted in a press release.

CELIA will also work with French deep tech company SeqOne Genomics, which will provide genomic analysis of the test results to generate clinical reports that outline possible treatment options and clinical trial eligibility for enrolled patients.

“Personalized treatments that target cancer mutations have improved prognosis greatly, helping us direct patients to the best option for them,” explained professor Pascal Pujol, president of the French Society for Predictive and Personalized Medicine, and head of the Oncogenetics Department at Montpellier University Hospital. “It is critical to ensure that the use of comprehensive analysis based on large DNA and RNA panels becomes part of routine practice so that patients can benefit from the best possible care.”