DiaTech Oncology Test Shows Improved Results, New Hope for Leukemia Patients

Patented MiCK Assay Enables Oncologists to Tailor Chemotherapy to Individual Patients

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Results of clinical trials published this month in the medical peer-review journal Leukemia & Lymphoma showed overall survival rate improved 257% for certain groups of leukemia patients when physicians used DiaTech Oncology’s test to help determine chemotherapy treatment.

“I have used this test in my practice for several years and observed firsthand the ability the test has to predict chemotherapy treatment that will be the most effective. It is an outstanding technology that makes a difference in how we can treat cancer”

DiaTech Oncology’s predictive test – the MiCK® assay or Correct Chemo™ - shows significantly positive results for more than 50 types of cancers, including chemotherapy patients with leukemia. The assay has been tested in controlled, multi-institutional clinical trials and has demonstrated statistically improved overall survival.

“Establishing an effective treatment path for cancer should be personalized to the individual, and the MiCK assay can predict which chemotherapy could be the most effective for a cancer patient,” says Karel Dicke, M.D., Ph.D., internationally recognized oncologist at the Arlington Cancer Center in Texas and founder of the Cancer Treatment Research and Educational Institute. “I have used this test in my practice for several years and observed firsthand the ability the test has to predict chemotherapy treatment that will be the most effective. It is an outstanding technology that makes a difference in how we can treat cancer,” adds Dr. Dicke.

Results of clinical trials recently published in Cancer Research and Leukemia & Lymphoma, showed overall survival increased 257% for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (who were treated with chemotherapy plus a stem-cell transplant) for patients in whom the MiCK assay showed that the chemotherapy would be highly effective. In patients who were treated with chemotherapy and no stem-cell transplant, overall survival increased 250% for patients in whom the MiCK assay showed that the chemotherapy would be highly effective. Complete remission was significantly higher when physicians used chemotherapy which the MiCK assay showed was highly effective.

DiaTech Oncology is a privately-held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company that has tested the MiCK assay successfully in more than 50 types of cancers, including breast, ovarian, prostrate, colon, lung, skin, pancreatic, endometrial and dozens of others.

“DiaTech is the only commercial pathology reference laboratory that works exclusively with live cancer cells and has the expertise and technology to measure drug sensitivity of specific cancer cells,” says Garry Latimer, DiaTech CEO.

The patented MiCK assay measures 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” for each drug and combination against the patients’ own tumor or leukemia cells. The pathologist then recommends the drugs or combinations that are most effective in killing the cancer or leukemia cells.

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 chemotherapy: Video of apoptosis

About DiaTech Oncology

DiaTech Oncology, based in Nashville, Tenn., 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 [phone]. Online: www.diatech-oncology.com