PreludeDx Welcomes Dr. Pat Whitworth as Chief Medical Officer to Drive Expansion of Precision Diagnostics

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May 02, 2024, 07:00 ET

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prelude Corporation (PreludeDx®), a leader in precision diagnostics for early-stage breast cancer, announced the appointment of Dr. Pat Whitworth as its new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Whitworth's extensive clinical and research expertise across the multiple stages of the breast cancer patient journey will bring invaluable leadership as PreludeDx expands its diagnostic portfolio.

"I'm thrilled to join the PreludeDx team during this important growth period and contribute to the mission of improving breast cancer outcomes," said Dr. Whitworth. "The company's commitment to personalized medicine with innovative tests like DCISionRT and patient-centered care aligns perfectly with my values."

Dr. Whitworth brings more than 30 years of clinical expertise to this role and recently served as the Breast Surgical Oncologist and Director at Nashville Breast Center; Medical Director of Aptitude Health; and Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, at the University of Tennessee. His expertise in breast cancer has been acknowledged multiple times as a National Top Doctor.

As a renowned breast cancer researcher, his work has been published in top-tier medical journals on topics such as genetic testing, molecular diagnostics, targeted therapies, minimally invasive surgical techniques and lymphedema prevention. He has extensive authorship in over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has served as the Principal Investigator in numerous NCI and industry-sponsored clinical trials.

"Dr. Whitworth's deep knowledge of breast cancer surgery, his passion for research and his dedication to patient advocacy and innovation, make him an ideal fit for PreludeDx," said Dan Forche, President and CEO of PreludeDx. "We welcome his leadership in advancing our precision medicine tools, especially at this critical inflection point and entry into the invasive breast cancer market with our AidaBreast^TMoffering."

Previously, Dr. Whitworth served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Breast Surgeons; Vice Chair of the Breast Committee for the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG); and Chair of the Research Committee for the ASBrS. He earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee, completed his residency at the University of Louisville, and his fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in cell biology and surgical oncology.

About DCISionRT for Breast DCIS

DCISionRT is the only risk assessment test for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that predicts radiation therapy benefit. Patients with DCIS have cancerous cells lining the milk ducts of the breast, but they have not spread into surrounding breast tissue. In the US, over 60,000 women are newly diagnosed with DCIS each year. DCISionRT, developed by PreludeDx on technology licensed from the University of California San Francisco, and built on research that began with funding from the National Cancer Institute, enables physicians to better understand the biology of DCIS. DCISionRT combines the latest innovations in molecular biology with risk-based assessment scores to assess a woman's individual tumor biology along with other pathologic risk factors and provide a personalized recurrence risk. The test provides a Decision ™Score that identifies a woman's risk as low or elevated. Unlike other risk assessment tools, the DCISionRT test combines protein expression from seven biomarkers and four clinicopathologic factors, using a non-linear algorithm to account for multiple interactions between individual factors in order to better interpret complex biological information. DCISionRT's intelligent reporting provides a woman's recurrence risk after breast conserving surgery alone and with the addition of radiation therapy. In turn, this new information may help patients and their physicians to make more informed treatment decisions.

About PreludeDx

PreludeDx is a leading personalized breast cancer diagnostics company dedicated to serving breast cancer patients and physicians worldwide. Founded in 2009 with technology licensed from University of California San Francisco, PreludeDx has focused on developing precision breast cancer tools that will impact a patient's treatment decision. Our mission is to provide patients and physicians with innovative technologies that improve patient outcomes and reduce the overall cost burden to the healthcare system. Before making a treatment decision, Know Your Risk^TM. PreludeDx is a Fjord Ventures portfolio company.

For more information on how PreludeDx is making a difference for patients, please visit the Company's website: https://preludedx.com and follow us on Twitter @PreludeDx, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

PreludeDx, the PreludeDx logo, DCISionRT, the DCISionRT logo, AidaBreast, DecisionTree, Decision Score, The DCIS Test, Know Your Risk and Your Biology, Your Decision are trademarks of Prelude Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries.