Cancer Diagnostic Services:

 

Athenese is currently evaluating state-of-the-art diagnostic assays that will be available to clinicians to accurately determine the most effective form of treatment to be used against a particular cancer type, the monitoring of the disease following treatment, and any post-therapeutic care that may be necessary. We are in the process of setting up CLIA certified laboratory to conduct these tests. These test results in conjunction with Athenese's extensive database, will ensure that the personalized treatment will be effective against the patient's particular cancer.

 

A greater understanding of the molecular basis of cancer has resulted in the development of better diagnostic assays. Results from these assays can help determine what preventive measures can be taken to minimize the risk of getting the disease, assist the physician to decide the best therapy to treat the disease, monitor a patient's response to therapy, and ensure the patient remains disease-free or, if necessary, what new or different treatment is required. These assays are being used with greater frequency for cancer.

 

Newer assays: By using diagnostic assays we can determine the presence or amount of certain proteins that are involved in the development or progression of cancer. For example, the presence of the biomarker erbB2 (also referred to as HER2/neu, which stands for Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2) indicates a high possibility of aggressive breast cancer present, while mutated EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) indicates progression of the cancer. Exploiting the information obtained from the diagnostic assays, therapies can be designed to use drugs that specifically attack these particular proteins (erbB2, EGFR) in the cancer patient.

 

Novel technologies hold the promise that very small numbers of cancer cells that circulate in the bloodstream, or even DNA that is released from cancer cells into the bloodstream, can be detected. This allows for early detection of a cancer and therefore greatly increases a patient's survival rate following therapy.

 

Diagnostic assays are being used in the field of personalized medicine, which is designed to customize the types of treatment available to provide a therapy that can be used for an individual's specific needs. Personalized medicine involves the use of genetic or other information about an individual patient to tailor their therapeutic care.

 

Personalized medicine is a departure from traditional approaches to clinical medicine which relies on a patient's symptoms, medical and family histories, and data from standard laboratory tests to diagnose and treat illnesses. Personalized medicine can therefore help determine the best course of treatment for cancer patients that will offer maximum therapeutic value.