The Next Leap in Oncology: How Real-World Biology and AI Are Changing Everything
- Feb 9
- 3 min read
By Andria Parks
Head of Commercial Operations at First Ascent Biomedical
In 2025, more than two million Americans were told, “You have cancer.” Many were not given a clear roadmap for which treatment would work best for them. Even with remarkable scientific progress, cancer care still leans heavily on trial and error. Patients often endure multiple rounds of therapy before discovering one that helps. Sometimes the right option is never found. The gap between what science can do and what patients actually receive remains far too wide.
My connection to this gap is deeply personal. In December 2019, my husband and I heard the words no parent should ever hear: “Your daughter has cancer." That moment alters everything. It reshapes what you value, how you move forward, and what you believe matters most. For me, it shaped my calling—to help advance technologies that turn uncertainty into clarity.
Technology Poised to Transform Cancer Care in 2026
One of the most promising advances is Functional Precision Medicine (FPM). Instead of relying solely on standard guidelines or trial-and-error approaches, FPM shows how an individual patient’s cancer responds to therapy in real time. By combining live tumor cell testing with genomic insights and AI analysis, it provides clarity where uncertainty has historically dominated care.
At First Ascent Biomedical, this approach allows us to take a fresh biopsy, evaluate how the tumor responds biologically, and then integrate that data through AI to identify the most promising options. Within about ten days, oncologists receive a report grounded in evidence from that patient’s own tumor. When families are facing cancer, every day spent on the wrong treatment is a day they can never get back. Early, meaningful answers can change the entire trajectory of care.
Innovation Meets Real-World Need
Innovation in healthcare has to do more than push scientific boundaries. It must make a measurable difference in people’s lives and within the systems that care for them.
When done well, it improves outcomes, strengthens physician decision-making, and reduces the financial and emotional strain of uncertainty.
Functional Precision Medicine brings that alignment. Identifying ineffective therapies before they are ever prescribed reduces unnecessary costs, minimizes toxicity, and shortens the time to find the right treatment. In a field where every day matters, this level of clarity is powerful.
The Overlooked Trend Powering the Next Leap in Oncology
AI continues to transform healthcare, but one of the most consequential trends is the growing ability to generate biological response data at scale. AI becomes exponentially more powerful when it can learn from richer, more representative datasets. For decades, oncology has leaned heavily on genomics alone—valuable information, but only part of the story.
FPM expands that story. By testing a patient’s living tumor cells directly, it produces evidence grounded in what is actually happening inside the body. When this real-time biological evidence informs AI models, we unlock a level of precision that genetics alone cannot provide.
As cancer diagnoses rise across age groups, this depth of personalization is no longer optional. It is becoming the standard patients deserve.
A Future Where Precision Is the Standard, Not the Exception
Human-centered innovation does not replace oncologists—it elevates them. When AI, genomics, and biology converge, they offer a clearer, faster, and more compassionate way to guide treatment decisions. They help families move from fear to understanding and from uncertainty to hope.
For the first time, we have tools that allow us to confront cancer with precision, humanity, and a renewed sense of possibility.
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