Business people shaking hands in conference room
Business people shaking hands in conference room

Cancer patients at Hermitage Medical Clinic in Ireland will soon have access to the clinical expertise of Sanford Health that will leverage the North Dakota health system’s expertise in genomic profiling to inform more precision cancer treatment.

“As part of its strategic intent in the development of research and innovation, the Hermitage Medical Clinic has signed a collaboration agreement on Genomic Cancer Testing with Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the world. Through this collaboration we are now able to bring patients, in Ireland, a world-class Genomic Cancer Testing service,” said its Chief Executive, Eamonn Fitzgerald in a prepared statement.

Under the agreement Hermitage Medical physicians will launch a clinical program to discover how genomic profiling patient tumors might lead to more targeted and precise cancer treatment for patients. The program is modeled after Sanford Health’s Genetic Exploration of the Molecular Basis of Malignancy in Adults (GEMMA) and Community Oncology Use of Molecular Profiling to Personalize the Approach to Specialized Cancer Treatment at Sanford (COMPASS) programs, which are studying the use of molecular testing to personalize cancer treatment and measuring associated patient outcomes.

“This is just another way we are trying to make a difference around the world,” said Jonathon Bleeker, M.D., an oncologist with Sanford Health. “Our ability to collaborate with the providers who treat patients at this clinic will help advance treatment options in Ireland.”

The Sanford program also makes a genetic tumor board from Sanford available to the care team at Hermitage via video conference. The board will work in concert with Hermitage physicians to help create personalized care plans the leverage the information of each patient’s genomic test.

“We know from experience that our tumor board and our use of genomic medicine in cancer makes a difference in developing treatment plans for patients,” said Dan Blue, M.D., executive vice president of Sanford World Clinic, in a press release.

The collaboration is a part of a planned expansion of Sanford World Clinic, Sanford Health’s international health care arm, which is in now deployed in nine countries with more than 30 locations. Sanford World Clinic also announced new initiatives in New Zealand, Vietnam, Costa Rica and South Africa. It already has working clinics in Ghana and China, and also owns a minatory stake in a clinic in Germany.

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