Foundation for Individualized Advanced Treatment

On we stand with survivors all over the world to encourage cancer education and prevention, as well as to remember all those we have lost. Today and every day, SpeciCare is working toward a cancer-free world by offering new options to patients through Live Tissue Science™. To help support the advancement of Live Tissue Science™, visit www.individualizedtreatment.org.

Any patient with a cancer diagnosis should utilize the state of the science approach to treatment. Even if a patient has already undergone initial treatment following a biopsy or surgery, the patient can request another biopsy and have that tissue put to work for them to ensure they are on the most effective treatment for their individual cancer.

Since live tissue science is so new, it is currently not covered by health insurance. The average cost to have a tissue sample kept in live state, shipped off to a lab, grown and then tested against a large drug panel with a report going back to the physician and patient ranges from $4,500 – $9,500. The Foundation will attempt to provide funding for patients who want to take this approach but cannot afford to do so. The patient would need to complete an application for funding and outline the financial need.

As a community cancer surgeon, Dr. Ken Dixon grew tired of not having answers for his patients and sought further options. Energized as he found other countries were using live tumor tissue to discover innovative treatment options, he started the work in the United States to replicate a process referred to as the utilization of live tissue science.

Patients often have surgery to remove cancerous tissue. Usually, the tissue is not preserved in a live state, and most often, is discarded. The exception is the Pathologist’s sample, kept in non-living form and used in future research. Industrialized, one size fits all is the most common approach for cancer patients, currently. This approach requires the patient to undergo multiple treatment regimens in the quest to overcome disease.

Individualized, advanced treatment empowers all types of cancer patients to retain ownership, ship, store and test their tissue in a live state. After collection, each patient's live tumor tissue is tested against a variety of drug therapies (up to 350 different therapies) to determine the most effective for their specific tumor. All of this occurs while the tumor is outside of the body. The results are sent back to the patient/treating physician and provides them with treatment options in a short period of time without exposing the patient to possible toxicities. This process allows the patient to remain at home with friends and family, as the tumor travels in their place. By putting his/her tissue to work for them, the patient gains control and more resources in which to find the best potential outcome. This process does not replace his/her care team but extends collaboration in providing results to their care team for consideration. This innovative process is known as functional precision medicine.

Dr. Dixon has supported over 240 patients through this process since 2018. Many of these patients could not personally afford the collection and testing fees. With additional funding, there is a huge opportunity to increase the outcomes of treatment for cancer patients, as well as explore the use of individualized advanced medicine to other diseases.

The Foundation for Individualized Advanced Treatment was established to improve the individual outcomes of patients with cancer and other diseases, as well as support the advancement of research in these diseases for all. Our plan is to expand the use of individualized advanced treatments so that all patients will have knowledge of and access to this process. Our focus will be to support this expansion to the 1,500 community hospitals where 85% of patients are treated for cancer but usually have fewer options than large medical institutions.

Our goal is to save lives by using the most recent advancement in science to get the patient on the most effective treatment the quickest. We connect the cancer patient and clinical care team to healthcare companies who specialize in live tissue science.

Currently most cancer patients are put on the standard of care treatment for their cancer diagnosis – the standard of care (SOC) treatment will work in only 60% of patients. After trying the SOC treatment, patients whose tumors do not respond are put on treatment after treatment trying to find something that works for their individual cancer. Those patients are exposed to high drug toxicities and many will never get to the correct drug before they succumb to the disease. Our goal is to significantly increase the number of patients participating in LTS clinical trials, increase the number of clinical trials available to patients, and financially support patients who want to use functional testing but do not have the ability to pay.

Meet our Founder and Chief Medical Office, Ken Dizon, M.D. FACS. Ken is a community cancer surgeon with over 35 years of experience treating cancer patients. Certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Dixon graduated with a BS from Davidson College, and an MD from Emory, completed a residency in general surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, and a surgical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson. He currently treats patients at his community cancer practice in Gainesville, Georgia.