Tempus, a leader in artificial intelligence and precision medicine, today announced a collaboration with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) – a clinical trials group, supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), devoted exclusively to childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer research – to assist with their Pediatric MATCH Screening Trial APEC1621SC (NCT03155620). The Pediatric MATCH Screening Trial is studying the effectiveness of genetic testing-directed treatment in pediatric patients with solid tumors, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and histiocytic disorders. 

Through this collaboration, Tempus will provide genomic sequencing for up to 300 eligible patients per year between 12 months and 21-years-old with recurrent or refractory solid tumors. Treating physicians have access to Tempus’ xT assay to help determine if a patient is a likely match for the Pediatric MATCH Screening Trial. Tempus’ 648-gene xT assay performs DNA and RNA whole transcriptome sequencing with clinically-validated fusions and reports incidental germline findings in 65 hereditary genes when a matched normal sample is available.

“The Children’s Oncology Group is a leader in pediatric oncology research, and we are excited to support their efforts in providing pediatric cancer patients expanded access to personalized care,” said Kristiyana Kaneva, MD, a pediatric oncologist and Senior Medical Director, Clinical Development at Tempus. “This collaboration will allow more pediatric patients to access genomic sequencing, which is critical for planning their treatment journey and for matching these children, adolescents, and young adults to clinical trials.” 

In addition, Douglas S. Hawkins, MD, Group Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, stated, “Pediatric oncologists recognize the importance of genomic sequencing for children with recurrent or refractory solid tumors to expand the range of treatment options.  The Children’s Oncology Group is pleased to collaborate with Tempus to promote access to testing that will facilitate participation on the Pediatric MATCH study.”  

About Tempus

Tempus is a technology company advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare. With one of the world’s largest libraries of clinical and molecular data, and an operating system to make that data accessible and useful, Tempus enables physicians to make near real-time, data-driven decisions to deliver personalized patient care and in parallel facilitates discovery, development and delivery of optimal therapeutics. The goal is for each patient to benefit from the treatment of others who came before by providing physicians with tools that learn as the company gathers more data. For more information, visit tempus.com. 

About The Children’s Oncology Group (COG)

COG (childrensoncologygroup.org), a member of the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. COG unites over 10,000 experts in childhood cancer at more than 200 leading children’s hospitals, universities, and cancer centers across North America, Australia, and New Zealand in the fight against childhood cancer. Today, more than 90% of the 16,000 children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States are cared for at COG member institutions. Research performed by COG institutions over the past 50 years has transformed childhood cancer from a virtually incurable disease to one with a combined 5-year survival rate of 80%. COG’s mission is to improve the cure rate and outcomes for all children with cancer.