The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has partnered with cloud-native software company Sophia Genetics to implement the Sophia DDM Platform in a new clinical trial for ovarian cancer patients in Canada.

This collaboration marks USask as the first Canadian homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) customer of the company.

The trial is set to enhance genetic testing and treatment personalisation for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer presents a significant challenge in Canada, with a five-year survival rate of 45%.

The current standard for tumour testing is limited to detecting BRCA mutations, which only identifies a subset of patients with genetic changes in their tumours.

USask's clinical trial will employ the Sophia DDM Platform and additional genetic diagnostic tools to provide oncologists with a broader spectrum of genetic information.

The Sophia DDM Comprehensive Profiling Solution, alongside the company’s deep learning algorithm GIInger, will enable USask researchers to conduct extensive mutation analysis for each patient.

This testing is expected to promptly yield detailed genomic data, including predicted treatment responses.

Sophia Genetics' AI technology will be instrumental in analysing and interpreting raw next-generation sequencing (NGS) data to deliver reliable and swift results.

The primary objective of USask's clinical trial is to utilise these insights to assist healthcare providers in devising personalised treatment plans.

The goal is to prevent patients from undergoing ineffective treatments that do not control their cancer and adversely affect their quality of life.

By expanding access to advanced genetic testing, the trial also aims to inspire changes in treatment guidelines for ovarian cancer in Canada.

Sophia Genetics NORAM managing director John Carey said: “Using genetic testing to uncover tumour mutations and support treatment planning for cancer patients is a perfect example of precision medicine in practice. It's exactly what we at Sophia Genetics are working so hard to make available to clinician researchers around the world.

“The research being led by the USask Advanced Diagnostics Research Laboratory (ADRL) team to advance genomic analysis of patient tumours has the potential to drastically improve the lives of thousands throughout Canada, and we are honoured our Sophia DDM Platform is a pivotal part of that research.”

Last month, AstraZeneca Spain selected Sophia Genetics as its preferred partner for expanding HRD testing for ovarian cancer across Spain.