Oxford, UK, 16th January 2015 Oxford Cancer Biomarkers Ltd (OCB), the UK-based company developing tests that allow medicines to be personalised for the benefit of the cancer patient, has today announced that the Thames Valley Cancer SCN Project has awarded funding for a pilot study to measure the clinical utility of OCB’s ColoTox test for patients undergoing adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer. The project is a collaboration between Oxford cancer Biomarkers and the Oxford University Hospitals Trust.
The ColoTox test predicts which patients are at risk of severe side effects upon treatment with5-fluorouracil based drugs such as capecitabine so elective dose reduction can be considered prior to dosing preventing toxicity. The aims of the pilot study are to:
- Assess the uptake of a novel genetic test that can predict potential risk of high grade toxicity prior to first exposure
- Assess the impact of the results of the assay on the capecitabine / 5FU dosing decisions made for the first cycle of treatment
- Assess the impact of the assay results / a priori dose reductions on the frequency of high grade / life-threatening toxicities (presently 30%)
- Assess the impact of the above on frequency and duration of emergency admissions and other interventions.
David Kerr CMO of Oxford Cancer Biomarkers, commented: “For the first time, through the use of the ColoTox test, we should be able to reduce drug toxicity for colorectal cancer patients while creating health economic savings for the NHS. This is an important example of Oxford Cancer Biomarkers vision for the future of personalised medicine.”
About Oxford Cancer Biomarkers
Oxford Cancer Biomarkers translates ground-breaking scientific discovery into predictive biomarker diagnostic products that allow medicines to be personalised for the benefit of the cancer patient. Oxford Cancer Biomarkers is a spin-out of the University of Oxford and has strong links with the Medical Sciences Division in Oxford University. The company was founded by Nick La Thangue, Ph.D., Chair of Cancer Biology at Oxford University and David Kerr, CBE, D.Sc., M.D. FMedSci, Professor of Cancer Medicine at Oxford University. Its major investor is Quintiles with whom it also has a strategic relationship in the biomarker space.
Contact
Oxford Cancer Biomarkers Ltd
Tel: +44 1865 784743