IRVING, Texas, Oct. 27, 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 a significant expansion to the panel of breast cancer biomarkers analyzed by Caris Target Now™. The expansion includes 14 new biomarkers that provide physicians with key information to help guide therapeutic decisions for an increased number of breast cancer patients, making the novel theranostic tool now potentially useful to approximately 50 percent of all women battling the disease.
Caris Target Now molecular profiling has been used to guide treatment for more than 10,000 breast and other cancer patients since 2008. Previously, the biomarkers analyzed had been most useful for breast cancer patients with refractory or metastatic disease, as well as those patients who had exhausted treatment options within the standard-of-care – a group representing 15 percent of all breast cancer patients. The recent biomarker additions expand the potential clinical utility to include women who face therapeutic ambiguity earlier in the disease continuum – a group representing nearly 50 percent of all breast cancer patients.
"Our Caris Target Now Evidence Team continues to accumulate and aggregate evidence to enhance the clinical utility of this tumor profiling tool," said Les Paul, M.D., M.S., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs at Caris Life Sciences. "The ongoing process ensures that only the most relevant and appropriate information is included in the Caris Target Now panel. Better information can lead to better decisions, and better decisions can lead to better outcomes for patients."
Notable additions to the panel include TLE3, TOP2A and Ki67, which are associated with therapeutic response for commonly administered chemotherapies indicated for breast cancer.
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About Caris Target Now™
Caris Target Now is intended to help oncologists personalize cancer patients' treatment programs based on the genetic make-up of individual patients' tumors. By cross-referencing a specific tumor's biomarker information with data from more than 65,000 published clinical studies, Caris correlates biomarkers found in an individual patient's tumor with treatments likely to elicit a response, and singles out those likely to be ineffective. Caris Target Now™ was developed, and its performance characteristics were determined, by Caris Life Sciences, Inc., pursuant to and in compliance with the U.S. Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendment Act of 1988 and other relevant regulations.
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(TM) 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 .
CONTACT: Caris Life Sciences Media Inquiries: Holly Clark 214-596-7060 hclark@carisls.com