Caris Life Sciences Enhances Molecular Profiling Service with Addition of ROS1 and MGMT-Methylation Biomarkers

Caris Life Sciences Enhances Molecular Profiling Service with Addition of ROS1 and MGMT-Methylation Biomarkers PR Newswire IRVING, Texas, Nov. 12, 2012 -New Biomarkers provide expanded therapeutic insights to improve cancer patient outcomes IRVING, Texas, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences™, a leading biosciences company focused on enabling personalized healthcare through molecular profiling and blood-based diagnostic services, has added ROS1 and MGMT-Methylation to the company's evidence-based molecular profiling service. The company is one of only a few entities that offer both of these tests commercially. These markers are believed to serve as clinically-important aids in the development of treatment plans for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and glioblastoma. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology, Caris' tumor profiling service detects clinically-relevant rearrangements of the ROS1 gene, which are predominantly found in young, non-smoking lung cancer patients. Patients with theses ROS1 rearrangements have shown increased positive responses to crizotinib, an oral ALK inhibitor. Caris has also added MGMT-methylation (MGMT-ME) gene testing for glioblastoma patients, using pyrosequencing to detect methylation levels. Pyrosequencing was shown to be the best predictor of overall survival and progression-free survival in glioblastoma patients(1).