The Lab Catches Up to the Clinic: How Functional Precision Oncology Goes Beyond Genomics

Genomic testing transformed cancer care but often leaves uncertainty around treatment effectiveness. First Ascent Biomedical's Functional Precision Oncology bridges that gap by testing living tumor cells to generate actionable data in about 10 days, helping physicians choose the right treatment pathway with greater confidence.

MIAMI, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For decades, oncologists have had a powerful but imperfect ally in the fight against cancer: genomic testing. The ability to sequence a tumor's DNA and identify targetable mutations transformed the field, offering the promise of personalized treatment. Yet many clinicians continue to face an unsettling question. Even when genomics points to a drug, how do you know that drug will actually work for that patient?

First Ascent Biomedical believes it has a scientifically validated answer: Functional Precision Oncology (FPO).

"Genomics has given us powerful direction, but not always clear answers," said Dr. Maggie Fader, Chief Medical Officer of First Ascent Biomedical. "What clinicians need to know is not just what mutation is present, but whether a therapy will actually work in that patient's tumor. That is the gap Functional Precision Oncology is designed to close."

The Promise and the Gap in Genomic Medicine

Genomic sequencing has been a landmark advance in oncology. By identifying the mutations driving a patient's cancer, clinicians can select therapies designed to target those alterations. This approach has produced meaningful outcomes in certain patient populations and remains a cornerstone of modern cancer care.

However, genomics answers what mutation is present, not whether a specific therapy will be effective in a patient's living tumor biology. A mutation may appear targetable on paper, yet the therapy may fail in practice. This gap between genomic signals and clinical outcomes remains one of the most persistent challenges in oncology today.

The Science Behind Functional Precision Oncology

Testing drugs directly on a patient's cancer cells is not new. What differentiates First Ascent Biomedical is the biological fidelity of that testing.

Dr. Diana Azzam, co-founder of First Ascent Biomedical, developed a proprietary live tumor platform that preserves key features of the tumor microenvironment, including cellular heterogeneity and biologically relevant conditions. This approach more accurately reflects how tumors behave in the body compared to conventional cell culture methods.

Traditional drug sensitivity assays rely on simplified conditions that fail to capture tumor complexity. By preserving the tumor microenvironment and cell-to-cell interactions, this platform generates results that more closely align with real-world clinical outcomes. The data and results have been peer-reviewed and published, including a prospective clinical study in Nature Medicine.

"The challenge with earlier drug sensitivity platforms was never the idea itself. It was the biology," said Dr. Azzam. "Tumors do not exist in isolation. They function within a dynamic and complex microenvironment that shapes how they respond to therapy. Our platform was built to preserve that biological context so we can generate data that is relevant to clinical decision-making."

A Decade of Treating with Confidence

Dr. Maggie Fader, Chief Medical Officer of First Ascent Biomedical, has spent more than a decade integrating Functional Precision Oncology into clinical care. As a practicing oncologist, she has experienced both the strengths and the limitations of genomic profiling and understands the importance of having a complementary tool that provides functional validation of treatment decisions.

For Dr. Fader, FPO does not replace genomics. It completes the picture.

"For years, I watched genomics open doors that did not always lead where we hoped," explained Dr. Fader. "The mutation was there, the targeted therapy was available, and yet patients did not always respond. Functional Precision Oncology closes that gap. For the first time, the lab provides information that directly supports decisions at the bedside. This is what true personalization in cancer care looks like."

FPO in Action: Clinical Validation and Real-World Impact

A published case from a prospective Nature Medicine study, led by Dr. Diana Azzam and co-authored by Dr. Maggie Fader, highlights the real-world impact of Functional Precision Oncology.

A pediatric patient with relapsed, refractory acute myeloid leukemia had failed multiple lines of therapy. Genomic profiling identified a targetable mutation but could not determine which therapy would be most effective. Functional Precision Oncology provided that answer.

Testing the patient's tumor cells identified the most effective drug and revealed that a prior therapy was contributing to disease progression, leading to a critical change in treatment. The FPO-guided regimen achieved a complete response in 33 days, compared to 150 days with prior therapy. More than five years later, the patient remains cancer-free. This is just one example.

"Genomics told us there was a target. Functional testing showed us what would actually work, what would not, and that something we had been giving this child was actively feeding the disease," noted Dr. Fader. "That level of insight can only come from studying the tumor's biology directly, not from sequencing alone."

The broader study reinforces these findings:

• 83% of patients responded better to treatments with FPO-guided therapy
• Patients remained cancer-free 8.5 times longer compared to their previous therapies
• Results delivered within 9 to 10 days

The data makes the case compellingly: genomics and Functional Precision Oncology are stronger together than either alone.

About First Ascent Biomedical
First Ascent Biomedical is a first-of-its-kind oncology decision support platform designed for everyone navigating the uncertainty of cancer treatment decisions. The platform delivers specific, personalized insights beyond genomics alone by integrating ex vivo live-cell drug sensitivity testing, genomic data, and AI-driven cancer pattern recognition, and provides a clinically actionable report in an average of 10 days. The platform is clinically validated and prospectively published in peer-reviewed journals, reinforcing its scientific rigor and real-world applicability. By helping clinicians identify effective therapies and avoid ineffective ones across solid and blood cancers, First Ascent has the potential to improve patient outcomes and response rates, increase healthcare efficiency, and accelerate drug validation across the oncology ecosystem.

For more information, visit firstascentbiomedical.com 

References

• Azzam, Diana, Dr., et al. "The Clinical Utility and Accessibility of Functional Precision Medicine for Relapsed/Refractory Pediatric and Adult Cancers." Nature Medicine, Published:11 April 2024. Presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. 

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SOURCE First Ascent Biomedical