“This is helping us shape how we develop this new drug,” Dr. Roychowdhury said. “How can we make a better drug? Or can we make a better drug combination?”
Rapid-autopsy technology has been available for decades. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have been using the technique to study prostate cancer since 1991. Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center launched a now-robust program in 2000.
But only in recent years have more hospitals been launching and expanding programs, said Dr. Jody Hooper, director of the Legacy Gift Rapid Autopsy Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. At last count, there were 14 similar programs in the U.S.
Funding for them varies, Dr. Hooper said, but typically they’re supported by a mix of cancer program resources, grants, and researcher fees.