07.10.2008 at 08:00
- Category:
Cancer and Oncology
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND --The new assay screens all 12 mutations in codons 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene with 1% detection sensitivity, which has significant implications for patients with colon cancer receiving chemotherapy.
There are 12 possible mutations in codons 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene that may affect chemotherapy. Sequencing is the most common method used to screen these mutations, however, it cannot detect low-level mutations due to lack of sensitivity. Other KRAS assays do not cover all 12 mutations, whereas TrimGen's KRAS assay can detect all these mutations with conclusive results.
Thirty to 40% of colorectal cancer patients carry KRAS mutations. Through screening, doctors can effectively determine a treatment plan, avoiding harmful side effects and unnecessary expenses.
"This test marks an advancement of personalized medicine in colon cancer therapy," commented Dr. James Wang, president of TrimGen Corporation. "The same assay can also be applied to other types of cancer, such as lung and pancreatic cancers. The test not only benefits patients, it also provides valuable information to the pharmaceutical industry to develop better drugs."
KRAS serves an important role in the EGFR-tyrosine kinase pathway and the growth of cancer cells. Recent clinical trial data indicate that patients who carry a normal KRAS gene show promising responses to the chemotherapy drugs cetuximab (Erbitux(R)) and panitumumab (Vectibix(R)), whereas patients with KRAS mutations are unlikely to benefit from treatment with these drugs.
About TrimGen
TrimGen is a molecular diagnostic company focused on developing advanced genetic tests to transform traditional medicine into personalized medicine. The company pursues early detection of disease related genetic markers, utilizing proprietary nucleic acid-based technologies. Shifted Termination Assay technology, used by the platform, is a unique mutation enrichment approach for detecting low-level mutations in clinical specimens. The other proprietary technology, eQ-PCR(TM), is a special approach to enhance gene amplification signals to detect low levels of target genes. The company provides more than 100 molecular tests for cancer, leukemia and infectious diseases.
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