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Drug Resistance Assay (DRA)
Drug resistance of tumors is one of the principal reasons for the failure of chemotherapy in patients with cancer. Some tumors are highly resistant to virtually all anti-cancer drugs, while other tumors are quite sensitive. Most patients' tumors fall in between these two extremes. They are typically resistant to some drugs, but not to others. By identifying and avoiding inactive agents prior to the start of a treatment regimen, patients can be spared needless and unnecessary exposure to toxic, expensive, time consuming and ineffective therapies.
Our Drug Resistance Assay (DRATM) measures the net effect of the multiple resistance mechanisms in the cancer cells of an individual patient. Since most cancers have some degree of drug resistance, the DRA provides important information which can help a physician select what may be the most effective treatment from a group of otherwise equal standard of care therapies, when multiple options exist. Thanks to our DRA, it is substantially easier to determine whether drug resistance in the cancer cells of a particular patient is present and to what extent.
Our DRA measures the ability of pharmaceuticals and other therapies to stop cancer from dividing and growing. Since the DRA is most accurate for predicting resistance and clinical failure, the test can be used to exclude agents unlikely to be effective. After ineffective therapies have been excluded, our DRA can help select the chemotherapeutic agents that have the greatest likelihood of being clinically effective.
The DRA is not recommended for histologies where multiple therapies of equal efficacy are not available.
For your convenience, we have posted a PDF of our informative physician brochure on this page.
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Genzyme Corporate
