bioTheranostics' CancerTYPE ID® Linked With Improved Clinical Outcome and Longer Survival

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- bioTheranostics, Inc., a bioMerieux company that develops innovative oncology diagnostic tests to drive personalized treatment, today announced clinical study findings that link CancerTYPE ID® molecular testing with improved patient outcome.  Patients in which CancerTYPE ID predicted a colorectal site of origin that subsequently received site-specific therapy had a median survival three times that of what has been reported in patients treated empirically for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). These results make CancerTYPE ID the only marketed molecular cancer classifier to demonstrate therapeutic response and patient benefit based on molecular tumor profiling.

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The study, led by John Hainsworth, MD, of the Sarah Canon Research Institute,  A Retrospective Study of Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site and a Colorectal Cancer Molecular Profile, focused on the improved treatment response and survival in a group of patients in which CancerTYPE ID results were utilized in the selection of site-specific therapy.  According to the study findings, which will be published in the December issue of Clinical Colorectal Cancer and currently are available online, 75 percent of the patients showed negative colonoscopy results, and approximately half the patients had atypical immunohistochemistry for colorectal cancer. Significantly, CancerTYPE ID was used as part of the routine work-up and site-specific treatment was selected based on the molecular assay prediction.  

The study results demonstrated a 50 percent response rate in patients treated with first-line regimens for colorectal cancer versus only 17 percent in patients treated with current empiric therapies for CUP (P value = 0.0257).  Patients predicted to have colorectal cancer by CancerTYPE ID and treated with colorectal cancer treatment regimens experienced a median survival of 27 months. In comparison, patients treated with empiric CUP treatment have historical median survivals ranging from 8 to 11 months.

"The median survival in this select group is substantially better than the historical median survival for CUP patients when treated with empiric CUP regimens," said F. Anthony Greco, MD, Director of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute and senior author of the study.

"Targeted therapies for metastatic cancers require precise knowledge of both tissue origin and underlying disease pathways.  CancerTYPE ID provides critical information on cellular context," said Mark Erlander, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of bioTheranostics.

CancerTYPE ID is a 92-gene molecular classification test that has been shown to discriminate among tumor types that pose diagnostic dilemmas, including neuroendocrine subtypes often associated with metastasis.  The test classifies 30 main tumor types, 54 subtypes and 106 different morphologies, covering more than 95 percent of all solid tumors.  

"This study demonstrates both diagnostic and therapeutic utility of CancerTYPE ID in metastatic cancer management," said Richard Ding, Chief Executive Officer of bioTheranostics. "We are pleased to provide more evidence that CancerTYPE ID continues to set new standards in the emerging field of molecular cancer classifiers."

About bioTheranostics

Advancing Molecular Diagnostics in Oncology

bioTheranostics discovers, develops and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests for cancer patients. Leveraging its unique expertise in expression profiling and algorithm development, bioTheranostics provides innovative tests to the oncology community. The company operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited diagnostic service laboratory in San Diego, CA to perform its proprietary molecular diagnostic tests: breastcancerindex, which is a prognostic test that provides quantitative risk assessment of distant recurrence in patients diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive and lymph node negative breast cancer; and CancerTYPE ID, which uses the differential expression of 92 genes to aid in the determination of tumor site of origin. For more information, call 1-858-587-5870 or visit www.bioTheranostics.com.

About bioMerieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for more than 45 years, bioMerieux is present in more than 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2010, revenues reached euro 1.357 billion with 87% of sales outside of France.

bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cancer screening and monitoring and cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

bioMerieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Symbol: BIM – ISIN: FR0010096479).

Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com

FOR INFORMATION:

bioTheranostics
Tim Schofield
Tel: + 1 858 587 5890
[email protected]

bioMerieux
Koren Wolman-Tardy
Tel: + 011 33 6 13 94 51 14
[email protected]

SOURCE bioTheranostics, Inc.