The Worldwide Innovative Networking (WIN) Consortium in personalized cancer medicine was initiated in 2010 with leadership from leading cancer centers worldwide. WIN is a non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris.

WIN was created to accelerate the pace and reduce the cost of translating novel cancer treatments to the bedside by developing and applying, through worldwide clinical trials and research projects, the most promising advances in genomic-based cancer research. WIN aims to initiate research projects each year in a global consortium guided by an independent scientific advisory board.

WIN now includes 39 institutional members. These stakeholders have come together from all parts of the world to address the challenge of increasing the efficacy of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics by understanding the genetics and biology of each individual’s tumor and accounting for genetic differences across diverse populations—from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Our goal is to significantly improve outcomes for patients around the globe. We aim to increase the number of patients worldwide that have access to innovative, global clinical trials in the area of genomic-based cancer therapeutics. Global diversity and inclusion of all stakeholders is WIN’s most important and differentiating asset.

WIN enables cross-sector collaborations designed to accelerate the speed and efficacy with which breakthroughs in personalized cancer medicine can be realized and brought to patients worldwide.

Our members include leading academic, life science, not-for-profit, health, patient advocacy and IT organizations.

The response to a genetically-targeted therapy can vary due to differences in ethnicity and environment. WIN's global studies are designed to identify and account for this variability, enhancing the speed and efficacy with which novel discoveries can be made and brought to patients around the world.

WIN Symposia, held annually, brings together hundreds of leaders representing all stakeholders from around the world in a forum designed to promote the exchange of ideas and information.

October 19, 2024
Published by Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Abstract
Background: Dysregulated pathways in cancer may be hub addicted. Identifying these dysregulated networks for targeting might lead to novel therapeutic options.

Objective: Considering the hypothesis that central hubs are associated with increased
lethality, identifying key hub targets within central networks could lead to the development of novel drugs with improved efficacy in advanced metastatic solid tumors.

Design: Exploring transcriptomic data (22,000 gene products) from the WINTHER trial (N = 101 patients with various metastatic cancers), in which both tumor and normal organ-matched tissue were available.

Methods: A retrospective in silico analysis of all genes in the transcriptome was conducted to identify genes different in expression between tumor and normal tissues (paired t-test) and to determine their association with survival outcomes using survival analysis (Cox proportional
hazard regression algorithm). Based on the biological relevance of the identified genes, hub targets of interest within central networks were then pinpointed. Patients were grouped based on the expression level of these genes (K-mean clustering), and the association of these
groups with survival was examined (Cox proportional hazard regression algorithm, Forest plot, and Kaplan–Meier plot).

Results: We identified four key central hub genes—PLOD3, ARHGAP11A, RNF216, and CDCA8, for which high expression in tumor tissue compared to analogous normal tissue had the most significant correlation with worse outcomes. The correlation was independent of tumor or treatment type. The combination of the four genes showed the highest significance and correlation with the poorer outcome: overall survival (hazard ratio (95% confidence interval
(CI)) = 10.5 (3.43–31.9) p = 9.12E−07 log-rank test in a Cox proportional hazard regression model). Findings were validated in independent cohorts.

Conclusion: The expression of PLOD3, ARHGAP11A, RNF216, and CDCA8 constitute, when combined, a prognostic tool, agnostic of tumor type and previous treatments. These genes represent potential targets for intercepting central hub networks in various cancers, offering
avenues for novel therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: cancer, genes, prognostic markers, RNA, transcriptomic

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WIN's article “Digital Display Precision Predictor: the prototype of a global biomarker model to guide treatments with targeted therapy and predict progression-free survival” published by NPJ Precision Oncology, a Nature Research journal.

The WIN SPRING trial was conducted in the USA, France, Spain, Luxembourg and Israel in the following cancer centers: University of California - San Diego's Moores Cancer Center, Avera Cancer Center (Sioux Falls, Arizona), Institut Curie (Paris), Centre Léon Bérard (Lyon), Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (Barcelona), Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (Luxembourg), and Chaim Sheba Medical Center (Israel).

The trial was sponsored by the WIN Consortium and funded by ARC Fondation for cancer research (France). The drugs were donated by Pfizer Inc.

Published in Nature Medicine, results of WINTHER, the first study pioneered by the WIN Consortium.

Genomic and transcriptomic profiling expands precision cancer medicine: the WINTHER trial - shows that RNA profiling together with DNA testing matches more patients with advanced cancer to personalized therapies than DNA profiling for tumor mutations alone.

November 12, 2024 - Cure51 and Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN), in personalized cancer medicine consortium have joined forces to bring cancer research to a new level, rallying the brightest oncologists, and academics in the world and leveraging data, cutting edge precision tech to make cancer a disease of the past.

WIN Consortium is a network of 39 world-class academic medical centers, industries, research organizations and patient advocates spanning 19 countries and 5 continents.

“We are excited to welcome Cure51 to WIN and we look forward to working with their focused, inspired and dynamic teams,” said Prof. Wafik S. El-Deiry, Chair of WIN Consortium, and Director, Legorreta Cancer Center, Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University.

“Investigating exceptional cancer survivors is a brilliant idea and WIN network can contribute to this endeavor with our global footprint,” said Dr Razelle Kurzrock, Chief Medical Officer of WIN, Professor of Medicine, Associate Director Clinical Research, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. & John A. Mellowes Chair of Precision
Oncology.

“We are on a tireless mission to impact cancer in the next 10 years, and the partnership with WIN is a huge step
in the right direction,” says Cure51 co-founder Simon Istolainen, “We believe that cancer is a disease of the past, and with the best medical institutes in the world, we are building the tech to prove it. In a matter of years, we want every patient to become a miraculous survivor. Today, depending on the type of cancer 0.5% to 2% of patients survive aggressive cancers; we’re building a database of survivors to crack the survival code, which we know exists in nature, and drastically increase this ratio”.

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October 10, 2024 - Rutgers Cancer Institute and Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) in personalized cancer medicine consortium have joined forces to advance innovative cancer research

“We are very proud to welcome Rutgers Cancer Institute to WIN,” said Dr. Wafik S. El-Deiry, Chair of WIN Consortium, and Director, Legorreta Cancer Center, Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, “Rutgers Cancer Institute together with RWJBarnabas Health is one of an elite group of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and the only one in the state of New Jersey. This coveted designation gives Rutgers Cancer Institute the distinction of being among the best cancer research institutions in the U.S. Rutgers Cancer Institute has amazing colleagues who we are excited to collaborate with through innovative next-generation precision oncology trials.”

WIN was the first consortium that assembled all stakeholders of cancer care, from academia, industry, and patient advocates to work together across the globe. It was also the first organization to launch a N-of-One study using transcriptomics in addition to genomics to inform therapeutic choice in the WINTHER study. “It is with great excitement that we at WIN welcome Rutgers Cancer Institute, which is a leading cancer institution, and its talented faculty,” said Dr Razelle Kurzrock, Chief Medical Officer of WIN, Professor of Medicine, Associate Director Clinical Research, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. & John A. Mellowes of Precision Oncology.

“Joining the global WIN Consortium strengthens our mission to improve cancer outcomes worldwide,” said Dr. Steven K. Libutti, Director, Rutgers Cancer Institute and Senior Vice President, Oncology Services, RWJBarnabas Health. “This partnership allows us to collaborate on cutting-edge research and leverage the expertise of leaders in the field, all aimed at delivering more personalized and elective cancer care. With the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center opening in 2025, we are even better positioned to innovate and enhance treatment for our patients.”

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October 09, 2024 - Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) in personalized cancer medicine consortium have joined forces to advance innovative cancer research.
“We are very proud and excited to welcome Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center to WIN,” said Dr. Wafik S. El-Deiry, Chair of WIN Consortium, and Director, Legorreta Cancer Center, Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University.

WIN was the first consortium that assembled all stakeholders of cancer care, from academia, industry, and patient advocates to work together across the globe. It was also the first organization to launch a N-of-One study using transcriptomics in addition to genomics to inform therapeutic choice in the WINTHER study. “We are looking forward to working with amazing colleagues from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s Comprehensive Cancer Center on innovative next-generation precision oncology trials,” said Dr Razelle Kurzrock, Chief Medical Officer of WIN, Professor of Medicine, Associate Director Clinical Research, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. & John A. Mellowes of Precision Oncology.
“Defeating cancer is a team sport, and I am so delighted that our Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center team is able to leverage our role, along with Atrium Health Levine Cancer, as the largest provider of cancer care in the Southeast USA to the important shared efforts of the WIN Consortium,” said Dr. Ruben A. Mesa, Executive Director, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center and President, Atrium Health Levine Cancer. Dr. Mohamed E. Salem, Associate Professor, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center said: “Being part of WIN provides opportunities to advance precision oncology faster, develop novel trials and research programs, and provide more options for patients.”

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September 19, 2024 - American Cancer Society and Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) in personalized cancer medicine consortium join forces to advance innovative cancer research.

“By joining the global network of WIN, American Cancer Society is expecting to increase its global reach and to help improve cancer outcomes across the world,” said Dr. William L. Dahut, Chief Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“We are extremely proud to welcome the ACS to WIN,” said Dr. Wafik S. El-Deiry, Chair of WIN Consortium, Director of the Legorreta Cancer Center, Associate Dean for Oncologic Sciences at The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, and ACS Research Professor “For more than 10 decades, the American Cancer Society has been dedicated to pursuing better outcomes for every cancer, every life in the USA. It’s mission has been to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. As the WIN Consortium continues to develop and implement the next generation of Precision Oncology trials with attention to equity, working with ACS provides an exciting path to innovate and demonstrate ways for how patients with cancer will be managed in the next several decades. In this regard, the ACS is a major stakeholder and wonderful partner to work with.”

“The collaboration will look at amplifying and promoting the ACS’s and the WIN Consortium’s impact in advancing Precision Oncology to support their respective overarching missions, that include facilitating translation of discoveries in cancer prevention, therapeutics, and biomarkers as they relate to screening, prediction of or association with therapeutic benefit. This includes AI algorithm-driven therapeutic IND-studies at a growing global footprint of sites. We look forward to increasing access to innovative precision interventions in global communities through scientific approaches and patient navigation. We look forward to working collaboratively to facilitate goals of the emerging ACS-HBCU-Cancer Trials Consortium through biomarker and genomic/AI-based studies in cancer precision therapeutics. Addressing the global burden of cancer through new therapeutics targeting virally-associated cancers, precancerous conditions, rare cancers, cancers from specific tissue origins or tissue agnostic trials are other opportunities of mutual interest between ACS and WIN. We think that partnering between ACS and WIN will foster greater collaboration with academia, pharma companies and foundations in precision oncology research while enhancing networking opportunities and collaborations with ACS-funded researchers.” said Dr. William L. Dahut.

“With so many patients and families affected by cancer, waiting, and hoping for effective cures and treatments, siloed research gets in the way of innovation. WIN was the first consortium that assembled all stakeholders of cancer care, from academia, industry, and patient advocates to work together across the globe. It was also the first organization to launch a N-of-One study using transcriptomics in addition to genomics to inform therapeutic choice in the WINTHER study. WIN offers a platform to launch compelling precision oncology and early diagnosis studies internationally building upon its experience in genomics and transcriptomics. It is a great honor to welcome such a leading cancer-fighting organization in the USA as American Cancer Society” said Dr Razelle Kurzrock, Chief Medical Officer of WIN, Professor of Medicine, Associate Director Clinical Research, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. & John A. Mellowes of Precision Oncology.

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