Caris Life Sciences Presents Key Biomarker Data at 2013 Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Annual Meeting

-- Findings further demonstrate the validity of a multiple-technology approach to tumor profiling for cancer patients

IRVING, Texas, Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences®, a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine, will present five tumor profiling studies at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), held this week in Phoenix, Ariz. Results were obtained using Caris' comprehensive tumor profiling service, Molecular Intelligence™. Presentation highlights include:

• Comprehensive data on ERBB2 (HER2) mutation, gene copy number and protein expression highlight the role of ERBB2 alteration as a proliferative driver in some breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients.
• Presentation on the role of cMET activation and overexpression in several cancer types and the importance of multi-technology analysis in determination of the oncogene status.
• A study demonstrating the power of combining DNA sequencing technology with immunohistochemistry (IHC) to assess PTEN expression levels in cancer patients.

In the study, "ERBB2 (HER2) Mutational Spectrum in Solid Tumors," Caris analyzed the ERBB2 gene in nearly 7,500 breast, colorectal, lung, uterine/cervical, ovarian, bladder and pancreatic cancer patients.  By utilizing a variety of profiling technologies, including Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), IHC and dual in situ hybridization (dual ISH), Caris found that ERBB2 may be the sole identified driver mutation in the various tumor types listed above. The study also confirmed that amplification of ERBB2 is a key driver in HER2 overexpression, and that amplification and mutation in ERBB2 coexist in some cancer patients. Of particular interest to treating oncologists and affected patients, the study establishes the need for further research on the effectiveness of targeted anti-HER2 therapies for patients with non-amplified ERBB2 mutated cancers.

Two additional data presentations by Caris at this year's annual meeting further demonstrate that a multi-technology approach to tumor profiling offers the most comprehensive, actionable treatment information. In both a 9,000-plus patient study on the importance and role of cMET gene expression and a 1,600-plus patient study on how to best assess PTEN protein expression levels, the use of traditional laboratory methodologies, such as IHC and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), in combination with sequencing technologies like NGS, was critical to rendering a complete and accurate view of a tumor's biology.

"Our data presentations at this year's Annual Meeting clearly validate the use of a multi-platform approach when profiling a patient's tumor," said Zoran Gatalica, M.D., DSc, Executive Medical Director at Caris Life Sciences.  "For the treating physician, this means Caris Molecular Intelligence provides the most useful information available when selecting therapy for critically ill cancer patients."

A full listing of the company's data presentations include:

• Abstract 294934: Anatole Ghazalpour, Sting Chen, Ryan Bender, et al. Concordance between PTEN protein expression and gene mutations in the large cohort of cancer patients. Exhibit Hall, Nov. 15, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• Abstract 294319: David Arguello, Rebecca Feldman, Sherri Millis, et al. Distribution of cMET by IHC, FISH and next-generation sequencing in cancer – a large cohort analysis. Exhibit Hall, Nov. 16, 9:45-10:45 a.m.
• Abstract 294683: Wen Wenhsiang, Sting Chen, Sherri Millis, et al. ERBB2 (HER2) mutation spectrum in solid tumors. Exhibit Hall, Nov. 16, 9:45-10:45 a.m.
• Abstract 294906: Ryan Bender, Anatole Ghazalpour, Zheng Tan, et al. Practical issues in identifying and communicating incidental and unexpected findings arising from mutation analysis utilizing next-generation sequencing for clinical oncology. Exhibit Hall, Nov. 15, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• Abstract 294941: Zheng Tan, Wangjuh (Sting) Chen, Sherri Millis, et al. Ras-ERK and PI3K-mTOR pathway profiling in solid tumors and implications for clinical oncology. Exhibit Hall, Nov. 16, 9:45-10:45 a.m.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences is a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine.  As the first commercial mover in comprehensive molecular profiling in oncology, Caris Molecular Intelligence™ is an industry vanguard, with 50,000-plus patients profiled and counting. Ordered by nearly 6,000 oncologists in 58 countries, Molecular Intelligence correlates molecular data generated from a patient's tumor with biomarker/drug associations derived from clinical cancer literature. Using a variety of advanced and clinically-relevant technologies, Caris provides oncologists with the most clinically actionable information to help them personalize treatment for cancer patients. This multi-technology approach enables Caris to identify 43 FDA-approved therapies, compared to the 12 therapies that can be found through use of next-generation sequencing alone. The company is also developing a series of blood tests based on its proprietary Carisome® platform — a revolutionary blood-based testing technology for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.carislifesciences.com.