Dr. Dino Prato of Envita Medical Centers Highlights the Transformative Potential of Precision Oncology on the 'GoToHealth' Podcast

Patients with the same type and stage of cancer do not respond similarly to the same treatment prescribed for them. Pointing to the reason behind these differences, Dr. Dino Prato, CEO and Founder of Envita Medical Centers, said, “Double-blind placebo clinical trials are outdated because the technology we have can test for so much more that we really, in my opinion, need to move to what's called the N of 1, where the treatment and the testing are on the individual.”

Speaking about the game-changing role of precision integrative oncology in transforming outcomes for cancer patients, Dr. Prato explained that the standard of care treatment is based on patients' responses to double-blind placebo clinical trials. However, this approach does not take into account the multitude of data points that are harnessed as part of Envita's precision oncology approach, which is based on the N of 1 model. Typically, in conventional care, treatment is based on a handful of data points, such as biopsy, tumor markers, and imaging, but the Envita team goes beyond that to include many more data points, such as DNA, RNA, transcriptomics, and spatial biology.

With more detailed data about each individual patient, Envita's team of specially trained physicians customize treatments for patients, which, in turn, has proven to improve outcomes significantly. Dr. Prato added that several published studies, including Envita's own research, point toward higher chances of response with more detailed data.

“Technology is advancing, but the problem in medicine is that it's very hard to get it to patients because this ecosystem we have today,... is very hard to change,” said Dr. Prato. To learn more about why it's difficult to implement the precision oncology ecosystem in the standard of care approach and how precision oncology can transform outcomes, watch this podcast.