ARUP enters partnership to offer deCODE's DNA-based prostate cancer risk assessment test

deCODE genetics and ARUP Laboratories today announced a partnership through which ARUP will offer deCODE's DNA-based prostate cancer risk assessment test to its clients nationwide.

Under the terms of the nonexclusive agreement, ARUP will integrate deCODE ProstateCancer™ into the portfolio of tests it offers to leading academic medical centers, public and private healthcare providers, and major hospitals across the United States. ARUP's clients will order the test, submit samples and receive results through ARUP, with deCODE conducting the genetic analysis in its CAP and CLIA-certified laboratory.

deCODE ProstateCancer measures 25 common single-letter variations, or SNPs, in the sequence of the human genome that are associated with the risk of prostate cancer. These SNPs were validated in tens of thousands of patients and controls in many populations. The risk conferred by these common SNPs is independent of family history, and does not correlate with benign prostatic hyperplasia (a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate). The test can identify approximately 15% of men in the general population who are at double the average risk of prostate cancer, as well as 5% who have triple the average risk. This test is complementary to standard clinical risk screening, including PSA, providing additional information for a more complete and personalized picture of individual risk to help doctors manage effective screening and early-detection strategies.

"The management of patients with elevated or borderline PSA continues to be a challenge, and having the additional knowledge of a patient's genetic risk for prostate cancer can be very useful. We are pleased to be working with deCODE, who has developed this test through a number of large clinical studies and continues to demonstrate excellent scientific productivity in the area of human genetics," said Edward Ashwood, MD, President and CEO of ARUP Laboratories.

"We are excited to be partnering with ARUP to increase the availability of our prostate cancer test to physicians and their patients. The quality and breadth of their services, and their range of customers across the healthcare spectrum, make them an excellent partner. Our test helps to meet the need for improved risk stratification and patient outcomes, and we believe that this alliance will make these benefits available to a greater number of patients," said Kari Stefansson, Executive Chairman and President of Research at deCODE.

ARUP Laboratories plans to begin offering deCODE's prostate cancer risk test (ARUP test code 2003326) to clients in the fall of 2010.