Nagourney Cancer Institute

Nagourney Cancer Institute At Nagourney Cancer Institute (formerly Rational Therapeutics), we believe that every cancer patient deserves the right treatment the first time, every time.

Your cancer is as unique as your fingerprint. Drugs that work for one patient may not work for another, even if they carry exactly the same diagnosis. We offer testing that measures how your cancer cells will respond to drugs BEFORE you receive them. This testing helps select the most effective and least toxic drug regimen for your cancer. Our founder and medical director, Dr. Robert Nagourney, has been internationally recognized as a pioneer in cancer research and personalized cancer treatment for over 20 years. He has worked 20+ years refining a process that examines the biology of your tumor to identify the most effective, least toxic treatment for YOU. Our patients have been shown to be twice as likely on average to respond to a cancer treatment when chosen in our laboratory compared with standard treatment protocols. With these results, you and your doctors are equipped with personalized information to make the most informed decision to treat YOUR cancer. Truly Personalized Cancer Care.

A dinner & comedy night with purpose! Get your tickets now. Link in the bio. 🥂
03/24/2026

A dinner & comedy night with purpose!
Get your tickets now. Link in the bio. 🥂

Dive into a conversation with Dr. Robert Nagourney on personalized cancer treatment, functional profiling, and the role ...
03/20/2026

Dive into a conversation with Dr. Robert Nagourney on personalized cancer treatment, functional profiling, and the role of metabolomics. 🔬

A closer look at how measuring tumor response may inform more individualized care. 🧫

“Prepare for the end” doesn’t always have to be the final answer, even in advanced stage cancers. Steve Lockwood is proo...
03/19/2026

“Prepare for the end” doesn’t always have to be the final answer, even in advanced stage cancers. Steve Lockwood is proof of the same. 🤍

Blood DNA Test for Early Detection of Cancer Fails--Dr. Robert A. Nagourney, MD (2 min read)Since the discovery of the D...
03/11/2026

Blood DNA Test for Early Detection of Cancer Fails
--Dr. Robert A. Nagourney, MD (2 min read)

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953, we have been told that gene tests for diagnosis and early detection of cancer were “just around the corner.” But the results of a major study in England testing that hypothesis using the Galleri Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) test just failed miserably.

In this study 142,000 healthy individuals age 50-77 conducted across the United Kingdom, patients underwent a Galleri blood test every year for 3 years. The intent was to detect early-stage (Stage I and II) cancer and provide earlier intervention before the cancers had spread.

The reality has proven quite different. The test failed to detect early cancer, falling short of a 20% reduction of Stage III and IV cancers, the study design’s statistical endpoint.

This is not surprising as a review of the Galleri DNA blood test’s sensitivity for detection in early-stage cancer has been known to be quite low, in the range of 15-20%. This has not prevented the company from selling the test to the public.

Comments by specialists in the field have been harsh with one medical MD technology expert stating unequivocally “the study failed, end of story”

The lesson learned is that cancer is more complex than its genes. Indeed, genetic tests only provide a veneer of information regarding the complexity of human tumor biology. Regardless of the genes that you are given when you are born (your genotype) it is how your body uses those genes (your phenotype) that determines whether you will develop cancer.

To better measure the human cancer “phenotypes” we developed a technique to examine how cancer cells make and use energy. By studying cancer metabolism (metabolomics) we can now identify signatures that define predisposition to cancer and provide information on the severity of the disease, as we have published in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other diseases. It turns out that it is your metabolic signature that best defines your risk for cancer.

Now 73 years since the discovery of the DNA double helix and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on cancer gene research, maybe the cancer research community will take a fresh look at cancer biology. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Cancer biology is many things, but simple isn’t one of them.

03/10/2026

This is Steve’s story - Part 2.

At 59, Steve Lockwood was told he likely would not survive Stage Four Pancreatic Cancer.

But when his tumor was studied in the laboratory, doctors discovered it was highly sensitive to a treatment combination they had been researching.

Treatment began immediately - and almost just as quickly, Steve began getting better.

Today, he remains a long-term survivor. 🩵

Population Averages Based Cancer Care vs Cellular Reality Based Cancer Care. The latter can improve treatment response, ...
03/09/2026

Population Averages Based Cancer Care vs Cellular Reality Based Cancer Care. The latter can improve treatment response, even in advanced state diseases like Pancreatic Cancer. 🔬

02/27/2026

At 59, Steve Lockwood was diagnosed with Stage Four Pancreatic cancer.

He was told he likely would not survive the disease.

What followed would become one of the most remarkable examples of laboratory-guided cancer care in our institute’s history. 🩵

This is Steve’s story - Part 1, to be continued.

The AACR meeting continues to reflect the growing focus on understanding how cancers behave during treatment.This shift ...
02/24/2026

The AACR meeting continues to reflect the growing focus on understanding how cancers behave during treatment.

This shift highlights the importance of evaluating individual cancer biology to help guide more personalized care decisions.

At Nagourney Cancer Institute, laboratory analysis plays a central role in helping inform treatment planning based on each patient’s unique disease profile.

Additional context is available in the latest release on our website.

Large-scale evidence presented at AACR underscores the importance of response-guided treatment selection. 🔬Aligned with ...
02/14/2026

Large-scale evidence presented at AACR underscores the importance of response-guided treatment selection. 🔬
Aligned with these findings, research at Nagourney Cancer Institute centers on laboratory evaluation of tumor response to support more informed treatment decisions. The full press release provides additional context:
https://finance.yahoo.com/.../nagourney-cancer-institute...?

Pancreatic cancer has long been treated using drug combinations selected from population-based trials. Research from Nag...
02/13/2026

Pancreatic cancer has long been treated using drug combinations selected from population-based trials. Research from Nagourney Cancer Institute explores laboratory evaluation of patient tumor tissue using FDA-approved therapies to better understand potential treatment response. 🔬

The full press release provides additional context on the data and methodology behind this approach:
https://www.nagourneycancerinstitute.com/media

Address

750 E 29th Street
Long Beach, CA
90806

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+18005424357

Website

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nagourney-cancer-institute-challenge

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