Precision highlights role of ChemoFx test, multi-gene predictors for breast cancer

In a new study in which Precision Therapeutics' Multi-Gene Predictors (MGPs) were independently validated by investigators at US Oncology and MD Anderson, Precision highlights the potential role of the ChemoFx® in vitro chemosensitivity test and multi-gene predictors in determining a patient's likelihood of response to multi-drug chemotherapy regimens in breast cancer.

The study, titled, Multi-Gene Predictors Developed from Breast Cancer Cell Lines to Predict Response to Chemotherapy: A Validation Study on US Oncology Study 02-103, was presented at the 2010 December San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). In a study conducted between Precision, US Oncology, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, multigene predictors (MGPs) of response to multidrug chemotherapy regimens were developed by correlating in vitro chemoresponse (ChemoFx®) microarray gene expression data from 39 different breast cancer cell lines. The predictive values of the MGPs were subsequently assessed via blinded validation by investigators at US Oncology and MD Anderson using patient clinical outcomes>

"This data is critical to the advancement of research in personalized medicine and for improvements in cancer therapy," says Dr. Holly Gallion, Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Precision.  "Because so few patients respond to any given round of chemotherapy, histology alone cannot tell us which patients will respond.  When used with ChemoFx®, MGPs may have the capacity to accurately identify responders before treatment, thereby helping to minimize the selection of ineffective therapies for cancer patients, and this is one of the main goals in seeking to improve personalized cancer treatment."