The Side-Out Foundation

Funds raised in 2022 through the Foundation's two advocacy programs Dig Pink and the Ambassador Program were used for the advancement and expansion of the Side-Out metastatic breast cancer (MBC) research program. The program did a 50 patient pilot in 2020 which harnessed multi-omic advanced diagnostics to identify treatment response predictors. This approach provides MBC patients and their oncologists a precise analysis, outlining treatment solutions and clinical trials that may benefit an individual patient based on their cancer's unique molecular architecture. In 2021, the Foundation expanded the pilot to an additional 250 patients over the next 2 years, providing them with this comprehensive analysis to allow them to make an informed decision about their personal cancer journey. While directly helping cancer patients, this program also collected biomarker data for the diversification of Side-Out's one-of-a-kind, relational bioinformatics portal. This one-of-a-kind collection of MBC data allows science to advance and affords the opportunity to discover new targets, new treatments, and new pathways to extend the lives of those faced with this disease. Between 2020 and 2022, Side-Out has served nearly 300 patients in the new program.In February of 2023, we completed and published the results of the third clinical trial sponsored by the Side-Out Foundation focusing on advancing precision medicine for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. A key component of precision medicine is the identification of biomarkers or traits in each tumor that can be used by oncologists to personalize treatments for each patient based on the unique biology of each tumor. While a number of biomarkers are currently used in the clinic to guide treatment selection, important questions still remain unanswered to fully unleash the power of precision medicine for MBC patients. The latest trial was designed to answer a fundamental unanswered question: "Are there biomarkers that physicians can use to predict which patients will and will not benefit from first-line standard of care treatment in MBC patients?". Our trial has shown that tumors of patients that do not respond to treatment contain unique signatures or biomarkers that, if validated in larger studies, may become a new tool for individualizing treatment for newly diagnosed MBC patients in the clinic. Our findings have been published in the highly ranked peer-review journal NPJ Precision Oncology httpspubmedncbinlmnihgov36797347