JOHNS HOPKINS DEVELOPS COLON CANCER BLOOD TEST.

Bert Vogelstein and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in a collaborative study with Indivumed, have developed a test that reliably quantifies mutations in cancer genes in the blood of colorectal cancer patients (F. Diehl, M. Li, D. Dressman, Y. He, D. Shen, S. Szabo, L.A. Diaz, Jr., S. Goodman, K. David, H. Juhl and B. Vogelstein: Detection and Quantification of Mutations in the Plasma of Patients with Colorectal Tumors. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., Article 05-07094, 2005).

Using Indivumed's highly standardized biobank, the researchers found elevated levels of mutated adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in the plasma of patients with advanced stage colorectal cancers. They also detected mutant genes in more than 60 percent of patients with early stage cancers. While many cancers, including those of the colon, are curable if detected early, the lack of sensitive, non-invasive screening tools for early stage cancers has limited progress in this area. Their results provide the foundation for a new type of screening tool for presymptomatic, at-risk populations.

Indivumed

Indivumed has pioneered the "Indivumed BioBank Standard" for the generation and characterization of very high quality human biospecimens, i.e. serum, plasma, mononuclear blood cells, urine and, in particular, tissue (ischemia time < 15 min), as a basis for individualized cancer research and treatment. Indivumed's resources significantly increase research productivity. Indivumed's unique structure -- a biotech company integrated into a network of leading oncological hospitals -- is bridging the gap between preclinical models and patients.

For more information, visit http://www.indivumed.com.