Taiho Oncology Inc, a developer of novel treatments for haematologic malignancies and solid tumours, announced on Tuesday that oral decitabine and cedazuridine are to be included in the next-generation clinical trials for precision medicine treatments initiated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Myeloid Malignancies Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice, or myeloMATCH, trials will be sponsored by NCI and carried out by the NCI-funded National Clinical Trials Network.

The myeloMATCH programme includes trials assessing new treatment combinations that target cancer-driving genetic mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Patients will undergo rapid genetic testing of their tumours and then be matched to trials involving oral decitabine and cedazuridine, other studies within myeloMATCH or, if there are no other myeloMATCH targeted combination options for their cancer types, standard treatment.

Harold Keer, MD, PhD, Taiho Oncology chief medical officer, said: "The myeloMATCH programme is designed to ensure patients with aggressive malignancies of the blood and bone marrow receive therapy directed at specific, identified abnormalities in a timely manner. We are excited to have oral decitabine and cedazuridine included in this innovative clinical trial programme. The inclusion of all oral regimens in the setting of myeloid malignancies has the potential to produce practice-changing data and reduce the treatment burden that patients and their loved ones face."