VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 7, 2014) - Med BioGene Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MBI) today announced the publication in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology of data demonstrating a second, independent validation of the 15-gene signature to be marketed as GeneFx® Lung entitled "Validation of a Histology-Independent Prognostic Gene Signature for Early-Stage, Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Including Stage IA Patients." The study validated in a prospective and blinded manner the prognostic accuracy of the GeneFx Lung signature in an independent cohort of 181 early-stage (I and II) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor specimens in different histologic subtypes.
GeneFx Lung is a proprietary gene expression-based test to improve upon staging for identifying those patients with early-stage NSCLC who, following surgical removal of their tumor, are at higher and lower risks of mortality. In an initial study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology of patient specimens from the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group JBR.10 trial, patients classified by GeneFx Lung as high risk benefited from adjuvant chemotherapy, and those classified as low risk did not benefit and may have experienced a detrimental effect from adjuvant chemotherapy. GeneFx Lung was subsequently validated in predicting patient mortality in four independent studies involving data from tumor specimens totaling 676 untreated early-stage NSCLC patients.
On April 15, 2011, MBI and Precision Therapeutics Inc. entered into a commercialization, license and research reimbursement agreement which provides to Precision exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize GeneFx Lung.
"We believe that the blinded, prospective validation results published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, along with the prior validation results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, establish that the use of GeneFx Lung will result in better-informed and more personalized treatment decisions and improve the selection of patients who may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy", stated Erinn B. Broshko, Executive Chairman of MBI.
The study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology was led by Drs. Ming-Sound Tsao, Frances A. Shepherd and Sandy D. Der at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network in Toronto, and included Dr. Igor Jurisica, Jenna Sykes, Melania Pintilie, Dr. Chang-Qi Zhu, Dr. Dan Strumpf and Ni Liu.
The publication in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology can be assessed online (http://journals.lww.com/jto/Abstract/2014/01000/Validation_of_a_Histology_Independent_Prognostic.9.aspx).
The initial publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology can also be assessed online (http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2010/09/07/JCO.2009.26.4325.abstract) as can the independent editorial (http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/doi/10.1200/JCO.2010.31.0144) from Drs. Yang Xie and John D. Minna of the Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research and Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
About Precision Therapeutics
Precision Therapeutics, a leading life science company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to improving the outcomes of cancer patients by providing personalized medicine solutions that aim to increase quality of life and cancer survival rates. Precision offers a portfolio of products developed to help guide physicians and patients with difficult clinical decisions throughout the continuum of cancer care.
Precision currently markets a number of tests through its CLIA-certified laboratory, including ChemoFx®, BioSpeciFx® and GeneFx® Colon.
For more information on Precision, please visit www.precisiontherapeutics.com.
About Med BioGene
MBI is a life science company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is currently focused on managing the license and rights to GeneFx Lung. MBI's common shares are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange.
For more information on MBI, please visit www.medbiogene.com.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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