Technology Opportunities

Gene expression data helps to improve diagnostics, therapeutic approach

Highlights

• Current cancer diagnosis methods rely on descriptive histopathological data.
• New technology measures patient microarray data against detailed classification of cancer types from database of extracted and analyzed data and tumor gene expression profiles
• The method monitors genetic changes enabling improved accuracy of diagnosis
• Since molecular changes often precede morphological changes, genetic assessment of cancer patients may be used for early detection of the disease.

Our Innovation

• This new tool measures the similarity between gene expression data derived from DNA microarray tests of a patients malignant tissue with sets of gene expression data from pre-classified malignancies. This graphic presentation of the results forms the genetic signature of the patient and is a powerful and sensitive diagnostic tool.

Key Features

• Increased diagnostic and detection accuracy
• Enables cancer diagnosis, prediction of clinical outcomes and formulation of therapeutic approach
• General method may be used for any type of disease if an adequate size sample of microarrays from previously classified disease is available

Development Milestones

• Seeking industry cooperation for further development with companies that can prepare datasets

The Opportunity

• 25 million people in Japan, Europe and North America have cancer; 10.1 million additional cases diagnosed worldwide each year. By 2020, that number will grow to 15 million new cases annually. (World Health Organization)
• New diagnostic techniques such as molecular assays, tissue assays and pharmacodiagnostics had sales of $11 million in 2004, forecasts to reach $480 million by 2009. (Kalorama)