Caris Precision Oncology Alliance Welcomes Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute

Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute joins Caris’ extensive network of cancer institutions committed to utilizing clinical data to advance patient care and outcomes.

IRVING, Texas, March 1, 2022 – Caris Life Sciences^®(Caris), the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize health care, announced today that Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute (TGH Cancer Institute) has joined Caris’ Precision Oncology Alliance™ (POA). The POA is a growing network of leading cancer centers across the globe that collaborate to advance precision oncology and biomarker-driven research. POA members work together to establish and optimize standards of care for molecular testing through innovative research focused on predictive and prognostic markers that improve the clinical outcomes for cancer patients.

Established in 2021 and building on the success of the Tampa General Hospital oncology program, the TGH Cancer Institute provides comprehensive care via state-of-the-art therapies and advanced diagnostic imaging and molecular tools. As part of an academic medical center, TGH Cancer Institute’s team of surgical, medical and radiation oncologists, together with other medical specialists, take a multidisciplinary approach, combining access to cutting-edge clinical trials and therapies with compassionate and personalized care focusing on the whole patient. TGH Cancer Institute is rated among the top 10% of U.S. hospitals for cancer care, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-2022 rankings.

“TGH Cancer Institute is thrilled to join the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance and partner with key academic and clinical institutions similarly dedicated to advancing precision medicine and biomarker research,” said Eduardo M. Sotomayor, M.D., Director, TGH Cancer Institute. “Our goal is to bring world-class, leading-edge and innovative cancer care to the Tampa Bay region, and the POA offers our team access to a collaborative research network focused on identifying predictive and prognostic markers. As a physician-scientist myself, I know that access to advanced research and innovations make a significant impact in improving the outcomes and clinical care of patients with cancer.”

TGH Cancer Institute’s nationally renowned cancer physicians and physician-scientists offer a highly coordinated range of multidisciplinary specialties such as hematologic malignancies, neuro-oncology, thoracic, breast, colorectal, urologic, head and neck and gynecologic oncology.

“TGH Cancer Institute’s focus on innovation and research builds upon the POA’s goal to promote broad-based collaboration among our member institutions in precision oncology research to improve outcomes of all patients with cancer,” said Chadi Nabhan, M.D., MBA, FACP, Chairman of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance. “We are excited to welcome them to the POA, and look forward to helping them advance cancer care in the region.”

“Partnering with Caris will not only allow us to integrate state-of-the-art somatic tumor profiling for more precise diagnosis and treatment into clinical care, but also elevate the functionality of our rapidly growing biorepository and other core resources,” said Matthew L. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Director for Shared Resources, TGH Cancer Institute and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Access to molecularly characterized specimens will be a powerful tool we intend to leverage as we grow our translational and basic research portfolio.” 

In addition to serving the greater Tampa Bay region on the west coast of Florida, Tampa General is bringing together a network of cancer services to link patients on Florida’s east coast to highly complex care. Patients in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast area can receive care in their own community and when needed, access Tampa General for advanced treatment and services.

“Joining the POA will provide the TGH Cancer Institute with broader resources, and bring groundbreaking cancer care to patients on both the east and west coast of Florida,” said Abraham Schwarzberg, M.D., Chief of Oncology and Senior Vice President of Network Development, Tampa General. “This is exactly the type of alliance that will help us move forward in our vision to be the safest and most innovative academic health system in America.”

The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance includes 59 cancer centers and academic institutions. These institutions have early access to the extensive database and artificial intelligence platform within Caris to establish evidence-based standards for cancer profiling and molecular testing in oncology. By leveraging the comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic profiling available through Caris molecular profiling, Caris seeks to provide this network with the ability to prioritize therapeutic options and determine which clinical trial opportunities may benefit their patients. POA members are also able to integrate with a growing portfolio of biomarker directed trials sponsored by biopharma. Additionally, as a member of the POA, institutions have access to Caris CODEai™, the most comprehensive data solution in the industry with cancer treatment information and clinical outcomes data for over 275,000 patients covering over 1 million data points per patient.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences® (Caris) is the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize healthcare and improve patient outcomes. Through comprehensive molecular profiling (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing) and the application of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms, Caris has created the large-scale clinico-genomic database and cognitive computing needed to analyze and unravel the molecular complexity of disease. This information provides an unmatched resource and the ideal path forward to conduct the basic, fundamental research to accelerate discovery for detection, diagnosis, monitoring, therapy selection and drug development to improve the human condition. With a primary focus on cancer, Caris’ suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps patients, physicians and researchers better detect, diagnose and treat patients. Caris’ latest advancement, which is currently available within its Precision Oncology Alliance, is a blood-based, circulating nucleic acids sequencing (cNAS) assay that combines comprehensive molecular analysis (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing from blood) and serial monitoring – making it the most powerful liquid biopsy assay ever developed.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris has offices in Phoenix, New York, Denver, Tokyo, Japan and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visitCarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About Tampa General Hospital

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,041-bed non-profit academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2021-22 Best Hospitals, and one of the top 4 hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. The academic medical center’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious 2021 Forbes magazine rankings – America’s Best Employers by State, third out of 100 Florida companies and first among health care and social organizations and 13^th nationally in America’s Best Employers for Women.

Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal 2020 provided a net community benefit worth more than $182.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center.

Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 19 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track.  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost.  For more information, go to www.tgh.org.