PrognosDx Health Announces Publication of Novel Epigenetic Study in Journal of Clinical Oncology

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PrognosDx Health, Inc. announced today that in an independent research study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, cellular levels of histone modifications define previously unrecognized subsets of patients with pancreatic cancer with distinct epigenetic phenotypes and clinical outcomes. Histone modifications represent novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers that could inform clinical decisions, including use of fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy.

“Cellular patterns of histone modifications provide additional independent prognostic information for several tumor types, including prostate, kidney, lung, breast and ovarian cancers, with lower levels predicting significantly poorer survival probabilities”

“Cellular patterns of histone modifications provide additional independent prognostic information for several tumor types, including prostate, kidney, lung, breast and ovarian cancers, with lower levels predicting significantly poorer survival probabilities,” said Siavash K. Kurdistani, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “Our data indicate that cellular levels of histone modifications represent highly significant and independent prognostic markers for pancreatic cancer and may be helpful in predicting response to chemotherapy.”

About the Study

Tissue microarrays from two pancreatic cancer cohorts were examined, including those from a 195-patient cohort from Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial RTOG 9704, a multicenter, Phase 3, randomized treatment trial comparing adjuvant gemcitabine with 5-FU and a 140-patient cohort of patients with stage I or II cancer from the UCLA Medical Center. Immunohistochemistry was performed for histone H3 lysine 4 dimethylation (H3K4me2), histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2), and histone H3 lysine 18 acetylation (H3K18ac). Positive tumor cell staining for each histone modification was used to classify patients into low- and high-staining groups, which were related to clinical outcome measures.

In this published study, low cellular levels of H3K4me2, H3K9me2, or H3K18ac were each significant and independent predictors of poor survival in univariate and multivariate models, and combined low levels of H3K4me2 and/or H3K18ac were the most significant predictor of overall survival (hazard ratio, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.78 to 4.82) in the UCLA cohort, with median survival times of 1.7 years versus greater than 5 years for patients with combined high levels of H3K4me2 and/or H3K18ac. In subgroup analyses, histone levels were predictive of survival specifically for those patients with node-negative cancer or for those patients receiving adjuvant 5-FU, but not gemcitabine, in RTOG 9704.

PrognosDx Health also announced today that it has appointed Daniel W. Hunt as the company’s acting Senior Vice President Corporate Development. Prior to joining PrognosDx, Mr. Hunt was Associate General Counsel, Licensing, Contracts Management and Patent Law at Genentech, where he was responsible for managing Genentech’s business development and transactional activities in collaboration with Genentech’s business development, finance, research and alliance management groups. Prior to Genentech, Mr. Hunt was the Director of Legal Affairs at Abgenix, where he was responsible for all company transactions, ranging from acquisitions and strategic collaborations to ordinary course transactions, and engaged in strategic planning for business development, product development, acquisition and manufacturing activities. Prior to Abgenix, Mr. Hunt was Chief Corporate Counsel at Roche Molecular Systems, where he was responsible for business development and transactional support and managed Roche’s PCR licensing program. Mr. Hunt also serves as the Vice President of Corporate Planning and Alliance Management, General Counsel, Secretary at CoMentis, where he is responsible for managing all aspects of the company’s transactional, partnership and corporate planning activities. He also serves as a business advisor with relationships to various investment banks, venture funds and their portfolio companies.

About Epigenetics

Epigenetics refers to the regulation of genes with mechanisms other than changes to the underlying DNA sequence and such processes are widely believed to play a central role in the development and progression of almost all cancers. Such epigenetic processes are controlled by DNA methylation and histone modifications.

About Pancreatic Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 42,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during 2010. Pancreatic cancer is generally considered to be incurable by available treatment modalities, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 4%. More than 35,000 Americans will die of pancreatic cancer in 2010, making this type of cancer the fourth leading cause of cancer death overall.

About PrognosDx Health, Inc.

PrognosDx Health, Inc. is an early-stage life science company formed to significantly improve the treatment of cancer and other complex diseases by developing novel, semi-quantitative and quantitative laboratory products based on global histone modification patterns through technology licensed from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This platform technology has broad potential uses in the development of cancer prognostic assays, therapeutic response prediction assays, as well as research tools and reagents. A network of renowned academic researchers and clinicians supports PrognosDx Health, with expertise in the fields of cancer and epigenetics. The company has its headquarters in Palo Alto, California. For further information, please visit the website www.prognosdx.com.