Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Personalized TumorGraft™?
A Personalized TumorGraft™ is Champions Oncology’s unique method of implanting a fragment of a patient’s live tumor into a mouse, and over time into additional mice. This innovative solution preserves the distinct characteristics of your live tumor, creating a “clone” that is nearly identical to the tumor growing in your body.
Once the Personalized TumorGrafts™ have developed, Champions will test anticancer drug regimens on the tumor-implanted mice. The Champions’ team works in conjunction with your physician in choosing the drugs tested, identifying the treatment regimen most likely to positively impact your tumor.
How can Personalized TumorGrafts™ help patients and physicians?
Personalized TumorGrafts™ provide patients and physicians with a predictive model for how the patient’s tumor will react to various anticancer drugs and treatments. Studies have shown that a treatment that shrinks your Personalized TumorGraft™ in mice also has a higher likelihood of working against the tumor in your body1,2.Your physician will then be able to make treatment decisions based on real-world observations of how your own tumor responded to various anticancer drugs.
How have Personalized TumorGrafts™ performed in the real world?
All cancer patients who received treatment guided by the testing results of their Personalized TumorGraft™ responded to the treatment offered to them by their physicians and realized shrinkage of their tumor over a sustained period of time2.
How does Champions get the patient’s live tumor for the implantation?
The Personalized TumorGraft™ journey begins shortly before the patient’s surgery. While the surgeon removes or biopsies the tumor, a Champions Cancer Specialist will collect a tumor sample from the surgeon and transport it to our facilities. It is therefore essential that patients contact Champions and set up their Personalized TumorGraft™ prior to surgery.
How long does the Personalized TumorGraft™ process take? When can I expect my results?
Once the live tumor implantation has occurred, tumor growth and reproduction typically take about three to six months. This process ensures that there is an adequate number of mice for the drug evaluations. Each patient’s tumor is unique and tumors differ in their growth rates.
Thereafter, it typically takes another six weeks to perform drug study evaluations.