WALTHAM, Mass. — BostonGene said a new study conducted with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows that RNA-based transcriptome analysis can reveal additional treatment options for patients with advanced solid tumors who previously had no actionable results from DNA testing alone.
The findings, published in Cancer Discovery, come from the prospective FEASY study, which evaluated the clinical value of comprehensive transcriptome testing. According to the study, RNA-based multiomic analysis identified new therapeutic targets in all patients, with a particular focus on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a rapidly growing class of targeted cancer therapies.
The trial enrolled patients whose cancers had already been analyzed using broad DNA panel testing of more than 100 genes but who did not have any FDA- or NCCN-recommended biomarkers tied to existing treatments. Researchers found that combining whole exome and transcriptome profiling with AI-driven multiomic analysis uncovered actionable RNA findings in every case, while also modeling tumor biology and filtering out non-essential data.
ADCs emerged as the most common therapeutic category linked to the RNA-based insights, with each patient showing multiple potential ADC-related targets.
“Based on these results, we see that integrating RNA expression with DNA sequencing can expand the number of patients who may benefit from targeted therapy options,” said principal investigator Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D., Chair of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at UT MD Anderson. “Our collaboration with BostonGene allowed us to combine comprehensive sequencing and multiomic analytics to reveal a broad set of ADC targets in every patient we analyzed, even in cases when DNA sequencing alone revealed no actionable options.”
Nathan Fowler, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at BostonGene, said the findings highlight the growing role of multiomic approaches in cancer care.
“Multiomic profiling and biologically integrated analysis are transforming the treatment landscape for patients with the most advanced cancers,” Fowler said. “By combining advanced AI platforms with our multi-layered molecular testing, we uncover therapeutic opportunities that standard genomic testing often miss. These insights directly connect more patients to life-changing therapies such as ADCs and accelerate the development of the next generation of targeted treatments.”
BostonGene said the results demonstrate how transcriptome-enabled profiling can improve both research and clinical decision-making by translating complex RNA signals into meaningful biological targets. The approach may also help expand access to clinical trials, particularly those focused on ADC therapies, for patients who previously had no treatment options identified through DNA-only testing.
