MDxHealth has reported results from a castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment study.
The results demonstrate that biomarkers from its ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test could help urologists monitor therapy response to improve the personalized treatment of CRPC, the company said in its press release on Monday.
CRPC is an aggressive form of the disease that doesn`t respond to traditional, hormone deprivation therapies, the company said.
Researchers from Radboud University Medical Center and Ghent University found that men with CRPC (n=47) had higher concentrations of plasma cell-free DNA, and higher levels of methylation of the biomarkers detected by the ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test, versus a control group (n=30) of healthy people. DNA methylation, used by cells to control gene expression and hypermethylation of specific genes, is a hallmark of many cancers and has been shown to predict cancer progression, the company said.
“The prognosis for men with CRPC is poor, with median survival times ranging from 9 to 22 months,” said Prof. Dr. Jack Schalken, study investigator and Research Director, Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Urology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. “The identification of reliable biomarkers for CRPC will ultimately help urologists to more effectively stratify patients in this population to receive the treatment that will provide the greatest potential for extending life.”