Join the quest to find new treatment options for Bryce through metastatic prostate cancer informatics.
This patient-focused research case will bring researchers, scientists, and medical professionals together to explore what is driving Bryce Olson’s aggressive metastatic prostate cancer and how to stop it.
Bryce Olson’s stage 4 cancer journey has been extensively documented in the media, for example, as told recently in Wired: One Man’s Search for the DNA Data That Could Save His Life. Bryce has been a leading voice for the importance of genomic sequencing for cancer (see sequenceme.org), and how it has empowered him to open new therapeutic doors. But he has hit a wall. He has gone through 7 lines of therapy in less than 7 years, and without novel thinking, his survival is in jeopardy. In a conversation with his friend Brad Power, Head Hacker at CancerHacker Learning Lab, Bryce agreed to convene a “hackathon” to hopefully identify new treatment options that he would not get from his medical team, despite their being at the leading edge of academic research in metastatic prostate cancer therapies.
Research to the People in partnership with Stanford Medicine is bringing together a global community of experts collaborating across multiple disciplines (diagnostics, precision medicine, oncology, and bioinformatics) to bend the healthcare system and find out what’s best for Bryce. We are inviting all scientists, researchers, and medical professionals with intermediate to advanced experience to participate in Bryce's case. Bryce is already one of the most molecular-profiled cancer patients in the United States, and he is not only making his current identified data available. Brand new data sets courtesy of the broader biomedical community is currently being generated for the cause as well. For example, executives from Tempus Labs have already presented Bryce with novel gene expression insights that could potentially be addressed by early phase small molecule therapies. Leading research oncologists have begun to share their insights into what they believe is ultimately driving Bryce’s cancer along with requesting he secure additional labs to validate their hypothesis. And leading genomic sequencing companies are looking to complement Bryce’s data with novel data sets that patients simply don’t possess.
Therapeutic insights and recommendations will funnel from this effort into a global virtual “molecular tumor board” of leading metastatic prostate cancer research oncologists and other experts that will be hosted by Cancer Commons / xCures. We expect this exercise to find Bryce’s best treatment options will take about two months. We will then follow with additional research on ways to make this exceptional research, analysis, and community of leading researchers available to more people.
Research to the People cases are open participation, open data, and open results. To learn more about how you can participate in this groundbreaking research effort and how you can potentially help save Bryce’s life, please attend the opening kick-off meeting for invited partners and collaborators on Wednesday, December 22nd, at 9:00am Pacific time, by joining this Zoom link:
Bryce Case Launch
Dec 23, 2020 09:00 AM Pacific Time
stanford.zoom.us/j/99737755758
A recorded version will be posted shortly after for those who are unable to attend at this time on the Research to the People website.
By participating in the Bryce Olson “hackathon”, you will have the opportunity to contribute to a cure for Bryce and other cancer patients who have hit a wall, network with top influencers in the digital health and innovation community, and participate in cutting edge data analysis and therapy recommendations.
About Bryce:
Bryce is a 50-year-old Portland-based tech executive with Intel corporation, a single dad of a 12-year old girl, and an internationally known patient advocate for genomics guided precision medicine with deep connections in the industry. His story was recently profiled in Wired. He was diagnosed with advanced aggressive metastatic prostate cancer in 2014. In additional to a radical prostatectomy in 2014, a thoracic corpectomy and spinal fusion in 2020, and several stereotactic high beam radiation (SBRT) therapies, Bryce has burned through 7 lines of treatment over the last ~7 years including standard of care chemotherapy (Docetaxel), hormone therapy (Lupron, Eligard, and Abiraterone w/Prednisone), and a prostate cancer immunotherapy (Provenge) along with multiple clinical trial targeted therapies (PI3k Inhibitors, and cabozantinib w/atezolizumab that he is currently on). Bryce is probably one of the most genomic profiled prostate cancer patients on the planet, with multiple genomic cancer panel tests and other genomic research data from Tempus, Foundation Medicine, Guardant, TGEN, UCSD, and OHSU in Portland, Oregon, that have profiled his blood, primary tumor, and four metastatic bone metastases. Though his current clinical trial has kept new metastases from forming, it hasn’t stopped existing metastasis, and he was close to suffering a spinal cord compression this summer before intervening with emergency spinal surgery. It is inevitable that his current clinical trial will stop working and his next steps are unclear.
About Research to the People and Stanford Medicine:
Research to the People is a biomedical research initiative based in San Francisco. We produce healthcare, life sciences, and patient focused research cases featuring medical records, whole genome sequencing, -omics and a range of other data types. Many of the datasets we make available are created with patients. These highly specialized cases are open access and co-led with patients to help direct new research for their conditions. We believe the expandability of collaboration in biomedicine holds the greatest opportunity for discovery and we are thrilled to be one of the few venues creating open research opportunities between patients and researchers. Research to the People is a collaborator with Stanford Medicine.
About Cancer Commons and xCures
Cancer Commons is a nonprofit that provides hope to advanced cancer patients by helping them identify and access their best possible treatment. We offer a highly customized experience, connecting patients with our collaborative network of nurse navigators, PhD scientists, and national experts. We learn from every patient we serve, so we can help many more. For more information, visit cancercommons.org. xCures Inc. operates an AI-assisted clinical platform that connects cancer patients/physicians with optimal investigational or approved therapies. The platform prospectively generates real-world evidence for clinical studies and decentralized trials. For more information, visit xcures.com.
