Cancer Mutation Kit Launched

A new diagnostic kit will assist clinicians to select appropriate therapy for cancer patients.

The TheraScreen K-RAS kit allows clinicians to screen patients for mutations in the K-RAS gene, which correlates with poor prognosis if patients are treated with a class of drugs called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. The gene is mutated in approximately 35-45% cases of metastatic colorectal cancer as well as a variety of other cancers. The kit will enable clinicians determine, from the outset, which patients will not respond to targeted cancer therapies such as Vectibix and Erbitux.

DxS (Manchester, UK), a personalized medicine company that develops companion diagnostics, announced the launch of its K-RAS cancer mutation detection kit in Australia. This occurred after the kit met the compliance standards of Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA; Woden, Australia).

Dr. Stephen Little, CEO of DxS Ltd. said: "The TheraScreen kit will serve as an invaluable tool in deciding on correct treatment regimes for cancer patients and we are pleased to be able to help Australian physicians in identifying which patients will not respond to these treatments. The recent data at ASCO [American Society of Clinical Oncology] highlight the importance of verifying K-RAS status before prescribing EGFR inhibitor compounds, and the growing significance of companion diagnostics.”


Related Links:
DxS
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration