IRVING, Texas, Oct. 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caris Life Sciences™, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, today announced highlights from a multi-center, prospective, pilot study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Specifically, the study demonstrates that personalized cancer treatment tailored to a tumor's unique genetic make-up increased progression-free survival (PFS) in 27% of cancer patients with advanced disease, versus the patients' most recent successful regimen. The study was published online ahead of print in the prominent Journal of Clinical Oncology with an accompanying editorial.
The investigators in the study utilized Caris Target Now™ molecular profiling, which is currently available to oncologists and their patients from Caris Life Sciences.
"Oncologists commonly expect a one in twenty chance of patient response in 3rd- and 4th-line therapies," said Dr. Jeff Edenfield, a practicing oncologist with US Oncology, and routine user of Caris Target Now. "This recent study suggests those odds can be improved to one in four when using treatment guidance provided by Caris Target Now, which is a game-changing result."
Since 2008, more than 10,000 cancer patients have received a Caris Target Now molecular profile. The profile is intended to help oncologists and patients personalize cancer treatment programs based on the specific biomarkers in a patient's tumor. Caris Target Now has been designed to provide treating physicians therapeutic guidance, often suggesting anti-tumor agents that may not have been considered before. Guidance is based on the genetic make-up of an individual patient's tumor cross-referenced with a vast and growing proprietary database of clinical literature, correlating genetic tumor information to therapeutic response. This novel approach to therapy selection increases the likelihood of a positive patient response.
"This critically-important study supports our belief that the future of cancer treatment lies in an in-depth understanding of the genetic make-up of individual patients' cancer at the molecular level, through the use of molecular tests like Caris Target Now," Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, physician-in-chief at The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Chief Scientific Officer at US Oncology and Scottsdale Healthcare, and a consultant to Caris Life Sciences, commented on the study.
The recently published study involved patients with various tumor types including breast, colorectal, ovarian and many rare types of cancer. Caris Life Sciences is currently conducting and initiating additional studies of Caris Target Now molecular tumor profiling through collaboration with leading institutions and cancer centers, such as University of North Carolina and Breastlink.
For additional information, please visit www.targetnow.com.
About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences, a leading biosciences company, specializes in the development and commercialization of the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic technologies, in the fields of oncology, dermatopathology, hematopathology, gastrointestinal pathology and urologic pathology. The company provides academic-caliber consultations for thousands of patients a day, through its industry-leading team of expert, subspecialty pathologists. Caris also offers advanced molecular analyses of patient samples through prognostic testing services and genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiling to assist physicians in their treatment of cancer. Currently, Caris is developing the Carisome™ platform, a proprietary, blood-based technology for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. The company is headquartered in the Dallas metroplex, operates laboratories in the Dallas, Phoenix and Boston metro areas and is entering the European markets through its first international location, in Switzerland. For more information, visit www.carislifesciences.com.