Caris Life Sciences ASCO Presentation Highlights the Utility of Molecular Profiling for the Management of Rare and Aggressive Cancers

Analysis of world's largest commercial cancer patient database uncovers clinically actionable targets

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Jun 02, 2013, 07:30 ET

IRVING, Texas, June 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences™, a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine, will present findings today at the 2013 ASCO annual meeting from the analysis of its Caris Molecular Intelligence™ database. This database examined the results of molecular profiling of both common and rare cancer types for the identification of potentially clinically actionable targets.

For the purposes of this study, 42,000 patient tumors were analyzed in total, covering 150 histological subtypes received from more than 6,400 physicians worldwide. Furthermore, 14,700 of these cases, or 35 percent of the tumors profiled, are typically categorized as "rare" tumors, a patient segment that is typically underserved by current guidelines and where molecular profiling has the potential to significantly impact patient care.

Breaking the data down by tumor type, these findings included profiling the following tumor types:

6,000-plus Ovarian cancers
5,000-plus Breast cancers
6,000-plus Non-small-cell lung cancers
5,000-plus Colorectal cancers
2,000-plus Pancreatic cancers
14,000-plus Rare cancers

Caris has remained technology-agnostic in its approach to tumor profiling, employing a wide range of profiling technologies to uncover a broad array of key biomarkers, based upon review of the latest clinical literature showing correlations to known therapies. Technologies utilized for this comprehensive database included mutational analysis by Sanger Sequencing, Next-Generation Sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Gene Copy Number alterations and translocations by Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization/Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization (FISH/CISH), Methylation analysis, and protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

"To date, Caris has profiled nearly 50,000 patients, which is the largest and most comprehensive collection of biomarker profiles in the industry today," said Zoran Gatalica, M.D., DSc, Executive Medical Director at Caris Life Sciences, and a lead researcher in this study. "This study provided critical insights into the distribution of common and rare genetic and protein alterations, with direct and potential treatment implications. Our multi-technology approach to tumor profiling has been critical to building this extensive database, as it provides the most meaningful biomarker analysis and thorough interrogation of the cancer pathways."

Daniel Von Hoff, M.D., FACP, of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Ariz., will present results from its study, Integrating Molecular Profiling Into Cancer Treatment Decision Making: Experience With Over 35,000 Cases, at this year's ASCO annual meeting.

"Because of the size and depth of this database, these data points hold significant potential to detect rare molecular aberrations and biomarker targets in patients with common or rare cancers," said Dr. Von Hoff, Physician in Chief and Director of Translational Research at TGen; Professor of Medicine at both Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale and the University of Arizona College of Medicine; and Chief Scientific Officer at Scottsdale Healthcare and US Oncology. "The developmental and potential clinical applicability and relevance of tumor profiling is particularly compelling in cases of rare or resistant tumors, where treatment guidelines are more limited and current clinical trial data is often insufficient." Dr. Von Hoff's presentation will be held Sunday, June 2, 2013, at 8:15 a.m. at E-354 B.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences is a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine. This specialty oncology reference laboratory offers more than 70 clinically relevant molecular profiling tests, including its comprehensive Caris' Molecular Intelligence™ profile. Caris Molecular Intelligence correlates molecular data generated from a patient's tumor with biomarker/drug associations derived from the world's leading clinical cancer literature. With nearly 50,000 patients profiled, this service uses the most advanced and clinically-relevant technologies to provide physicians with information to aid in the selection of personalized cancer treatments more likely to work for each patient. Caris is also developing a series of blood tests based on the company's proprietary Carisome® platform — a blood-based testing technology for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. Headquartered in the Dallas metroplex, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the United States, Europe, and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.carislifesciences.com.

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences