DiaTech Oncology’s MiCK Assay Improves Outcomes for Ovarian Cancer Patients

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite the sobering realities of ovarian cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat, there is added hope for women fighting the disease. DiaTech Oncology, a privately-held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company in Nashville, Tenn., has developed a test that predicts which chemotherapy is most effective for an individual patient and shows positive outcomes for ovarian cancer patients.

“The test is unique in its ability to show which chemotherapy agents will potentially be the most effective.”

The Microculture Kinetic Assay, also called the MiCK® assay or Correct Chemo™, identifies the most effective chemotherapy drug or drug combination to kill a patient’s specific cancer cells. When oncologists use the patented test and apply the results, they consistently report improved outcomes including an increase in complete or partial response rates, longer times to relapse and longer survival.

“I have been using the MiCK assay technology in my practice for over 6 years and have found it to be very effective in developing a treatment path for my patients," says Karl Rogers, M.D., President of Nashville Oncology Associates P.C. and Diplomat, American Board of Oncology. “The test is unique in its ability to show which chemotherapy agents will potentially be the most effective.”

Results of DiaTech’s clinical research with ovarian cancer patients were recently published in the highly-regarded, peer-review medical journal, the Journal of Translational Medicine. In clinical trials, the survival rate was 80% longer in patients whose physician used the best chemotherapy in the MiCK assay, compared to patients whose physician used chemotherapy that was less effective in the MiCK assay.

“This is a breakthrough in treatment for women with ovarian cancer and helps the oncologists who treat them to choose the best chemotherapy for the individual patient,” says DiaTech Oncology’s Chief Medical Officer Cary Presant, MD. “Assays for chemotherapy resistance have been developed in the past, but until now their application in ovarian cancer has been of limited usefulness. The MiCK® assay can now guide the use of best therapy in ovarian cancer patients, and allow patients to have higher response rates and longer survival.”

The test measures the ability of drugs to produce apoptosis, or cell death, in the cancer cells of chemotherapy patients. Tumor cells are exposed to multiple doses of several chemotherapeutic drugs, either as single drugs or combinations. An algorithm monitors and computes the amount of cell death and determines a drug effectiveness “score” of the patients’ tumor cells.

This is good news for patients with all types of cancers. The MiCK® assay has also shown significantly positive results for patients with many types of cancer, including acute myeloid leukemia and breast, lung, bladder and endometrial cancers.

The results of DiaTech’s clinical research have been published in prestigious, peer-review medical journals, including Cancer, Cancer Research, Journal of Gynecologic Oncology, Leukemia & Lymphoma and International Journal of Cancer.

DiaTech Oncology Resources

Learn about the benefits of DiaTech Oncology’s MiCK assay from Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cary Presant: Video overview of MiCK assay

View time-lapse imaging video showing apoptosis (cell death) during effective chemotherapy treatment: Video of apoptosis

About DiaTech Oncology

DiaTech Oncology is a privately-held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company that offers patient-specific chemotherapy testing to help oncologists determine the best cancer treatment plans for their patients. DiaTech utilizes a patented technology called the Microculture Kinetic (MiCK) assay, which measures apoptosis (cell death) induced in a specific patient’s cancer cells by chemotherapy. The only test on the market that evaluates the chemotherapeutic drug effect for a specific patient and can tell which chemotherapy drugs are most effective, the MiCK assay has successfully tested all types of cancer. The MiCK assay is also used to determine the effectiveness of new drugs in preclinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry. For more information, call (877) 434-2832. Online: www.diatech-oncology.com.