Jia Jenny Liu, Translational Lead of Early Phase Drug Development at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, shared on LinkedIn:
“Network-integrated clinical trial navigation overcomes the precision oncology access bottleneck.
Our investigator-led PANNA-COTA study is now published in Clinical Cancer Research, coinciding with Professor Anthony Joshua’s presentation of the work at AACR Drug Dev 2026 in Boston.
Across nine sites in the NSW Early Clinical Trials Alliance (NECTA), PANNA-COTA integrated:
- Rapid liquid-biopsy profiling with Guardant Health
- A statewide molecular tumour board
- Real-time knowledge of trial eligibility and slot availability across sites
- Active navigation and cross-site referral
Among 101 eligible patients with advanced, heavily pretreated cancers:
- 37% enrolled in an early-phase clinical trial within three months
- 47% enrolled overall
- Among evaluable trial participants, the disease control rate was 81%, with an objective response rate of 33%
Yet only 7% received genomically matched therapy.
That apparent disconnect is the central lesson.
Finding a molecular alteration is not the same as delivering a treatment opportunity. Trial access also depends on timing, eligibility, coordinated referral pathways, accurate knowledge of the rapidly evolving trial landscape and people who can help patients navigate it.
PANNA-COTA moves precision oncology beyond passive molecular reporting towards active, network-enabled trial navigation: getting the right patient to the right trial, at the right site, at the right time.
I am incredibly proud to have led this investigator-initiated statewide collaboration with colleagues across NECTA, and deeply grateful to the patients and families who participated; our investigators and trial coordinators; and Cancer Institute NSW and Guardant Health for their support.
Discovery is not enough.
Innovation must be delivered.”
Title: Network Integrated Platform for Clinical Trials Navigation from the New South Wales Early Phase Clinical Trials Alliance
Authors: Jia Liu, Max Farrow, Sandra S. Hsing, Rasha Cosman, Charlotte R. Lemech, Christina Teng, Abhijit Pal, Udit Nindra, Andrew Ohyama. Parsonson, John J.W. Park, Anthony Rodrigues, Wei Y. Chan, Joe Wei, Jordan Cohen, Craig R. Underhill, Daniel Brungs, Mun Hui, Adnan Nagrial, Suyog Jain, Anthony M. Joshua
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