Know Your Tumor^® FAQs for Healthcare Professionals

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Patients treated with matched therapies selected through biomarker or genetic testing can live longer. Data from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Know Your Tumor® precision medicine service published in Lancet Oncology  showed that patients whose tumors had an actionable alteration and went on a matched therapy lived on average one year longer than patients with similar mutations who did not go on a matched therapy or patients whose report did not show actionable alterations.
 
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network supports guideline recommendations for all patients to undergo genetic testing for inherited mutations at diagnosis and for patients to undergo biomarker testing of their tumor tissue unless clinically contraindicated. Genetic testing for inherited mutations can also inform family members of risk independent of family history.
 
PanCAN offers precision medicine information and resources, including our Know Your Tumor precision medicine service, for you and your patients.
 
Our Know Your Tumor service, provided in partnership with Tempus, provides you with a testing report that includes treatment options, providing valuable insight to support your treatment decisions.
 
Treatment options are personalized to your patient and may include:

• Targeted therapy, which avoids the toxicity of multi-agent chemotherapy
• Appropriate clinical trials, including molecularly targeted solid tumor trials
• Off-label treatments that may be particularly effective for your patient’s specific tumor mutations
• Standard of care treatments

Information provided in the reports can help provide a better understanding of the disease and treatment options.

A Tempus representative will reach out to you to discuss the service and provide a tissue collection kit. You will also receive specific instructions for obtaining and shipping tumor tissue (as well as optional blood or saliva sample for genetic testing) directly to Tempus. Once Tempus receives your patient’s tumor tissue, please allow 14 days for the complete report of personalized treatment options to be emailed.
 
Tempus tests through the xT gene panel. The report will include information on both somatic and germline mutations, tumor burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI). The report includes treatment options, providing valuable insight to support your treatment decisions.
 
More than 400 physicians – from institutions such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Johns Hopkins, Virginia Mason Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering – have received Know Your Tumor reports for their patients. About 26% of patients’ tumors have been found to have at least one actionable alteration.

The criteria listed below will help you decide which of your patients are best suited for the Know Your Tumor service:

• Patient has diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy
• Tumor tissue is obtainable (see Tempus Specimen Guidelines)
• Patient is receiving treatment for a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in the United States and is not imprisoned
• Patient or close caregiver is able to read and speak English or Spanish

Once Tempus receives your patient’s tumor tissue, please allow 14 days for the complete report of personalized treatment options to be emailed. You may find it appropriate for your patient to start a new line of treatment while waiting for completion of the report. You and your patient should begin the Know Your Tumor process as soon as possible to ensure the report is available to help inform the patient’s next-line treatment.

Through our Know Your Tumor service, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will cover the cost of genetic testing for inherited mutations and biomarker testing of your patient’s tumor by the CLIA-certified Tempus laboratory.
 
Medical procedures – including biopsies – will be billed to the patient’s insurance. The patient will be responsible for any co-pay, co-insurance or insurance deductible associated with a procedure to obtain tumor tissue.

Should insurance coverage issues arise, our Know Your Tumor CareLine (in partnership with the Patient Advocate Foundation) may be able to help.

You play an important role in this process. A Tempus representative will reach out to you to discuss the service and provide a tissue collection kit. You will also receive specific instructions for obtaining and shipping tumor tissue (as well as optional blood or saliva sample for genetic testing) directly to Tempus. It is important to get each step of the process underway as quickly as possible so that you will have a completed report ready to help you make a decision on the next line of treatment when needed. In order to receive your patient’s report as quickly as possible and ensure program completion, it is important for your office to respond to any communication from Tempus in a timely manner.

Enrollment in Know Your Tumor is a two-part process.
 
1. Have your patient contact the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s PanCAN Patient Services at 877-2-PANCAN to enroll in Know Your Tumor.
 
2.Once your patient has enrolled, Tempus will reach out to you to provide instructions needed to commence with testing.