London Hospitals First in UK to Perform Study Utilizing Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Pathwork Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics company focused on oncology, announced today a collaboration with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. Guy's and St Thomas' will be the first hospitals in the United Kingdom to conduct a research study on the Pathwork(R) Tissue of Origin Test, which aids in the diagnosis of hard-to-identify tumors.
"We're extremely excited about entering into this partnership with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust," said Deborah J. Neff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pathwork Diagnostics. "In this study, pathologists and oncologists at Guy's and St Thomas' will not only be able to validate the test for use in their institution, but more importantly, soon be able to use information generated to help them determine the most effective, cancer-specific treatment regimen for hard-to-diagnose cases."
In the collaboration, Dr. Giuseppe Culora, the clinical director, and Dr. Eugene Halligan, the scientific director, are performing a proof-of-concept validation study. "Since patients with cancer of unknown primary have a very poor prognosis, we hope that with this novel diagnostic test our oncologists will have new information at their fingertips to guide treatment and be able to offer a better standard-of-care for our cancer patients," said Dr. Culora.
The Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test uses a microarray to measure the RNA expression pattern, comprising more than 1,500 genes, in the tumor and compares it to expression patterns of a panel of 15 known tumor types, representing 60 morphologies overall, to help determine the tumor's origin. Earlier this year, Pathwork became the first U.S.-based company to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for a molecular diagnostics test under
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| SOURCE Pathwork Diagnostics, Inc. Copyright©2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved |