Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness 
Tue, December 23, 2008
Mon, December 22, 2008
University Hospitals Case Medical Center Implements Non-Invasive Stool-Based DNA Screening for Colorectal Cancer
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. & CLEVELAND--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) and University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) of Cleveland, Ohio today jointly announced that UHCMC has launched a program for stool-based DNA (sDNA) screening within its health care system at two sites comprising fifteen physicians. For patients unwilling or unable to obtain a colonoscopy, sDNA screening will now be the preferred method of screening offered at the sites. UHCMC will evaluate program performance to determine broader roll-out of sDNA screening system-wide.
"Among our guiding principles is to pursue and implement breakthrough medical advancements and practices to deliver superior clinical outcomes for our patients," said Stanton Gerson, MD, Director, Ireland Cancer Center of UHCMC, Director of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University. "Our new sDNA screening initiative within UH Case Medical Center is an exciting example of this principle in action. Non-invasive sDNA screening includes the Vimentin gene, a genetic locus discovered by Dr. Sanford Markowitz of the Ireland Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve Medical School, a discovery that we believe can have a dramatic impact on increasing screening rates and decreasing mortality."
"We applaud University Hospitals Case Medical Center in its commitment to early detection of colorectal cancer, especially in the year in which stool-based DNA technology was included in the colorectal cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society," said Barry M. Berger, MD, Chief Medical Officer of EXACT Sciences. "Ohio and the bordering states of Indiana and West Virginia are among the ten states with the highest mortality rates from colorectal cancer in the United States according to the American Cancer Society. Through its use of sDNA technologies, we believe that UHCMC, a recognized center of excellence, has again distinguished itself as a leader in the use of innovation to improve patient outcomes."
About Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is the most deadly cancer among non-smoking men and women in the United States, and the second most deadly cancer overall. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 150,000 cases will be diagnosed and 50,000 deaths are anticipated in 2008 due to this disease. Despite the availability of colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic tests for more than 20 years, the rate of early detection of colorectal cancer remains low, and deaths remain high. It is estimated that roughly one-third of colorectal cancer-related deaths could be avoided if more people underwent regular screening. Early diagnosis results in a greater than 90 percent, five-year survival rate.
About University Hospitals
With 150 locations throughout Northeast Ohio, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our Health System is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top hospitals in the nation; MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and Ireland Cancer Center, which holds the nation's highest designation by the National Cancer Institute of Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to [ www.uhhospitals.org ].
About EXACT Sciences Corporation
EXACT Sciences Corporation uses applied genomics to develop patient-friendly screening technologies for use in the detection of cancer. EXACT maintains an exclusive license agreement in the United States and Canada with Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp®) for certain intellectual property relating to stool-based DNA screening. EXACT continues to retain rights to offer a colorectal cancer testing service itself within the United States, to develop a U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared or approved in vitro diagnostic colorectal cancer test kit, and rights to license its colorectal cancer technologies outside of the United States and Canada. Stool-based DNA technology is included in the colorectal cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer (a group comprised of representatives from the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy), and the American College of Radiology. The Company has 115 patents in the United States and abroad, with key intellectual property assets applicable to the field of oncology and reproductive health. EXACT Sciences is based in Marlborough, Mass.
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, EXACT Sciences' expectations concerning increasing early detection rates for colorectal cancer, system-wide adoption of sDNA screening technologies and similar matters. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond EXACT Sciences' control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, EXACT Sciences' ability to secure FDA approval or clearance for any of its products; changes in FDA guidance or policy; the ability to attract prospective collaborators or other parties to enter into a collaboration, acquisition or other strategic transaction with EXACT; the ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms; the clinical performance and market acceptance of its technologies; the reproducibility of its research results in subsequent studies and in clinical practice; sufficient investment in the sales and marketing of EXACT Sciences' technologies; the success of its strategic relationship with LabCorp; EXACT Sciences' ability to license certain technologies or obtain raw materials for its technologies; the ability to convince Medicare and other third-party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for EXACT Sciences' technologies; the ability to convince medical practitioners to order tests using EXACT Sciences' technologies; the ability to increase the performance its technologies; the ability of EXACT Sciences or LabCorp to lower the cost of stool-based DNA screening technologies through automating and simplifying key operational processes; the number of people who decide to be screened for colorectal cancer using EXACT Sciences' technologies; competition; the ability to protect EXACT Sciences' intellectual property and the cost of enforcing or defending EXACT Sciences in litigation relating to intellectual property rights; and the possibility that other companies will develop and market novel or improved methods for detecting colorectal cancer. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. EXACT Sciences undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by EXACT Sciences, see the disclosure contained in EXACT Sciences' public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC.