ALAMEDA, Calif., Jan. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoCyte Corporation (NYSE MKT:OCX), a developer of novel, non-invasive tests for the early detection of cancer, announced that its abstract on interim data from the Company’s lung cancer diagnostic test study has been selected for presentation in a poster discussion session at the 2017 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in Washington, D.C. The discussion will be led by Dr. Anil Vachani, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center. The analysis “Multi-Gene Classifier for the Diagnosis of Benign Versus Malignant Pulmonary Nodules” will be discussed in the “Pulmonary Nodules and Thoracic Surgery: Working Across the Aisle” session to take place at 2:15 p.m. on Monday, May 22nd.
ATS is an international medical conference that is typically attended by more than 16,000 clinicians and industry representatives. It is considered one of the premier conferences for Thoracic Surgeons, Pulmonologists and other clinicians involved in the routine screening and diagnosis of lung cancer. Approximately half of the attendees come from outside the United States.
“The data to be presented is from an interim analysis of prospectively collected patient samples from our ongoing lung cancer diagnostic study,” said William Annett, President and Chief Executive Officer of OncoCyte. “Our study is a follow-up to the Wistar Institute study, which reported a test sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 62% at the CHEST 2016 Annual Meeting. We expect to complete our study by the end of the current quarter. The ATS presentation will be an important step in our test’s continued development, which, if successfully completed, is expected to result in the commercial launch of the test during the second half of this year.”
According to the lead author, Dr. Anil Vachani, “If the assay continues to perform at the levels reported by Wistar, it could create a significant improvement in the standard of care in lung nodule management. Current practice can result in patients undergoing avoidable invasive procedures, which a diagnostic test of this type could help to avoid.”
About OncoCyte Corporation
OncoCyte is focused on the development and commercialization of novel, non-invasive blood and urine (“liquid biopsy”) diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer to improve health outcomes through earlier diagnoses, to reduce the cost of care through the avoidance of more costly diagnostic procedures, including invasive biopsy and cystoscopic procedures, and to improve the quality of life for cancer patients.
While current biopsy tests use invasive surgical procedures to provide tissue samples in order to determine if a tumor is benign or malignant, OncoCyte is developing a next generation of diagnostic tests that will be based on liquid biopsies using blood or urine samples. OncoCyte’s pipeline products are intended to be confirmatory diagnostics for lung, bladder and breast cancer. OncoCyte’s diagnostic tests are being developed using proprietary sets of genetic and protein biomarkers that are differentially expressed in specific types of cancer. For more information visit www.oncocyte.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates”) are forward-looking statements. These statements include those pertaining to future financial and/or operating results, future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and potential opportunities for OncoCyte, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential diagnostic tests or products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, the need and ability to obtain future capital, maintenance of intellectual property rights, and the need to obtain third party reimbursement for patients ’use of any diagnostic tests we commercialize. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of OncoCyte, particularly those mentioned in “Risk Factors” found in OncoCyte’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. OncoCyte disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.