PurIST is a new RNA- expression test for pancreatic cancer molecular subtyping to help inform and customise cancer treatment to detect patients with the classical subtype of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
GeneCentric Therapeutics announces the commercial launch of the PurIST test. (Credit: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)
GeneCentric Therapeutics has commercially launched its PurIST test for pancreatic cancer through US-based healthcare technology company Tempus for clinical use.
PurIST is a new Ribonucleic acid (RNA)- expression test for pancreatic cancer molecular subtyping to help inform and customise cancer treatment.
The test is intended to detect patients with the classical subtype of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who are expected to experience longer overall survival (OS) with standard-of-care (SOC) FOLFIRINOX than patients with the basal subtype of PDAC.
GeneCentric Therapeutics CEO and president Mike Milburn said: “The PurIST test represents a breakthrough for pancreatic cancer molecular testing.
“By delineating patients into biological subtypes with clear prognostic implications, patients and healthcare providers have a new tool to better inform personalised treatment options for this devastating disease.”
Under an ongoing partnership with GeneCentric Therapeutics, Tempus validated PurIST as a laboratory developed test (LDT) as part of its Whole Transcriptome RNA sequencing platform capabilities for clinical and investigational usage.
GeneCentric Therapeutics said that the test’s clinical value was proved by utilising a Tempus real-world multimodal dataset of more than 250 advanced PDAC patients who had previously received SOC FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel treatment.
The molecular subtype of each patient’s cancer was determined by RNA sequencing (RNAseq), which was done on main or metastatic tumour samples.
According to the genomic solutions provider, patients who received FOLFIRINOX and had a classical molecular subtype had extended survival than patients with a basal molecular subtype.
In basal patients, survival was comparable between FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel treatment regimens and in classical patients, FOLFIRINOX treatment extended survival.
The PurIST test can be ordered as part of the on-line Tempus HUB and will shortly be available via an updated paper requisition form.
GeneCentric Therapeutics has developed its technologies using its RNA-based Tumour and Immune Micro-Environment (rT(I)ME) Explorer platform.
In November last year, Tempus unveiled plans to start a multi-centre study to evaluate its investigational, artificial intelligence (AI) enabled, predictive tests in cardiology.