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Aureon Laboratories Introduces Prostate
Px® , First Biopsy-Based Test to Predict Prostate Cancer Disease
Progression and Recurrence
Prognostic test provides objective information to help
physicians and patients make more-informed treatment decisions
YONKERS, N.Y., May 19, 2008 - Aureon Laboratories, Inc., a
specialized laboratory dedicated to advancing personalized
cancer treatment through predictive pathology, today announced
the introduction of Prostate Px® , the first commercial test to
predict prostate cancer progression and disease recurrence at
the time of diagnosis. The announcement was made at the American
Urological Association Annual Meeting, now underway at the
Orange County Convention Center in Orlando (Booth# 505).
According to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, 218,890 new
cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2007 and an estimated
27,050 American men died from the disease. It is estimated that
by 2015 more than 300,000 men will be diagnosed annually.
Existing guidelines from the American Urological Association
assess patient risk based on information available at diagnosis:
biopsy Gleason scores, prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels
and clinical stage. However, as more men are diagnosed with
lower-risk disease, these subjective parameters are becoming
less useful.
Annual PSA screening has resulted in more men being caught
earlier in the disease process than ever before. As a result,
each year approximately 186,000 men with newly diagnosed
prostate cancer will be assessed as low or intermediate risk,
making it harder to determine which men have aggressive disease
and which do not.
“Although the majority of prostate cancer cases are detected
early and categorized as lower risk, there are a significant
number of men within this segment whose tumors will grow
aggressively, and jeopardize their lives,” said Dr. Vijay
Aggarwal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aureon
Laboratories. “It is imperative that physicians have access to
better tools that will assess disease severity and identify
high-risk patients hidden within these lower-risk groups.”
Prostate Px is based on the results of a large study utilizing
data and samples from a cohort of 1,027 men assembled from the
Mayo Clinic, Uppsala University, University of Connecticut and
Duke University Medical Center. In validation, Aureon’s
predictive model identifies twice as many high-risk events in
low and intermediate risk patients than the best available
method.
“Prostate Px is the first prognostic test to provide this
critical information at diagnosis. This technology represents a
new integrated approach (Systems Pathology) and combines
molecular biomarkers, histological and clinical information with
advanced mathematics,” said Dr. Ricardo Mesa-Tejada, Vice
President of Pathology and Medical Director of Aureon
Laboratories. “At the time a man is diagnosed, Prostate Px will
forecast disease progression after treatment, detect high-risk
patients presenting as low risk and undetectable by other
methods, reclassify intermediate-risk patients and help identify
those with less aggressive disease.
“Newly diagnosed men with prostate cancer face difficult choices
regarding treatment options, each of which can be curative but
all with different side-effects that can negatively impact
quality-of-life. The assessment of patient risk at diagnosis is
critical to making the most appropriate treatment plans,” added
Dr. Mesa-Tejada. “Prostate Px will provide integrated and
objective information to assist physicians and patients in
making more educated and informed treatment decisions.”
Prostate Px must be ordered by a physician. After a biopsy
sample is sent to Aureon’s laboratory, Prostate Px analyzes the
tissue combining information from multiple sources to create a
personalized, objective report about a patient’s prostate
cancer. Urologists receive a report that includes a Px SCORE™— a
low of one to a high of 100 — indicating the severity of disease
and likelihood of recurrence.
About Aureon Laboratories
Aureon Laboratories' mission is to enable personalized patient
care through predictive pathology. Aureon has developed a high
throughput systems pathology technology platform to predict
individual clinical outcomes through the interrogation of
tissue. The platform generates and analyzes an integrated,
digital view of clinical findings, tissue micro-anatomy and
tissue molecular pathology to determine which combination of
features predicts specified individual clinical outcomes. Allied
with major cancer centers, Aureon operates a CLIA certified and
CAP accredited laboratory that provides predictive pathology
services to the practicing physician. For more information about
Aureon, go to
www.aureon.com or
call 1-888-SYS-PATH.
Contacts
Aureon Laboratories
Jason Alter, Ph.D.
914-377-4036
Jason.Alter@Aureon.com
Schwartz Communications
Jon Siegal / Laura Coluci
781-684-0770
aureon@schwartz-pr.com
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