Laboratory for Advanced Medicine Strengthens Hepatology Board with Addition of Three Distinguished Medical Doctors

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Laboratory for Advanced Medicine (LAM), a commercial-stage medical technology company developing innovative technologies for the early diagnosis of cancers, today announced the additions of three renowned medical doctors to its Hepatology Board. Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, M.D., a board-certified oncologist with expertise in treating liver and gastrointestinal cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), has been appointed Chair of LAM's Hepatology Board. Robert G. Gish, M.D., a board-certified gastroenterologist and CAQ liver transplantation expert, and Yujin Hoshida, M.D., Ph.D., an eminent doctor and translational researcher specialized in liver cancer at the University of Texas Southwestern will also join the Hepatology Board.

"It is with great pride that we welcome Dr. Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, Dr. Robert G. Gish and Dr. Yujin Hoshida to our Hepatology Advisory Board, which is shaping into a robust body of medical experts that will continue to guide the company's efforts. Their collective experience in treating patients in the fastest-growing cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. will be an invaluable asset to the company," said Dr. Richard Van Etten, LAM Chief Medical Advisor.

"With nearly 400,000 people diagnosed with liver cancer in 2018, I look forward to assisting with LAM's efforts to bring early diagnostics and better detection tools for liver cancer patients," said Dr. Abou-Alfa.

Dr. Abou-Alfa is a graduate of the American University of Beirut's medicine school. He completed his residency and fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine where he also served as faculty. At MSK, Dr. Abou-Alfa continues to serve as an investigator in numerous clinical trials for cancer treatments. Dr. Abou-Alfa is the Chair of the NCI Hepatobiliary Task Force and member of the NCI AIDS Malignancy Consortium Steering Committee. Dr. Abou-Alfa is the President-elect of the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology.

Dr. Robert G. Gish is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Dr. Gish specialized in internal medicine and became an expert gastroenterologist and hepatologist at the University of California, with a special focus on liver transplantation. He became the Co-Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1988 and then the Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1994. Dr. Gish has had and continues to have an active research program in viral hepatitis (HBV, HCV, HDV and HEV) liver transplant, bioartificial liver, and public policy especially related to liver cancer, liver transplantation and viral hepatitis. He is the Medical Director of the Hepatitis B Foundation and a member of numerous medical societies, including the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (Fellow), European Association for the Study of Liver Disease, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver and the American Society of Transplant Physicians.

Dr. Yujin Hoshida is a graduate of the University of Tsukuba, and clinically trained for gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Tokyo Hospital and the Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Hoshida is a board-certified gastroenterologist and hepatologist and currently serves as Director of the Liver Tumor Translational Research Program and as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and a member of numerous medical societies such as the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Association for Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

About the IvyGene® Dx Liver Cancer Test

The IvyGene Dx Liver Cancer Test is a highly sensitive and specific blood test that has the potential to detect the presence of liver cancer, as early as Stage I. This blood test provides a highly accurate, non-invasive complementary tool to the current standards of care. Liver cancer surveillance tests available on the market today do not offer a potent combination of high sensitivity and specificity. Instead, many tests only have one or the other. The IvyGene Liver test provides patients with cirrhosis a great tool to detect the presence of liver cancer before it becomes life-threatening. With a low false negative and false positive rate, patients and physicians may rely on the IvyGene Liver test for more accurate diagnosis of cancer presence and streamline the diagnosis process.

About the CLiMB Study

Subjects with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and who are currently recommended for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening every 6 months by ultrasound are being enrolled in the CLiMB trial during a routine HCC screening visit. Within the same clinical visit as the ultrasound, blood samples are being drawn for the IvyGene Dx Liver Cancer Test and to determine the concentration of additional blood analytes. Samples for the IvyGene Dx Liver Cancer Test will be collected using the IvyGene Dx Collection Kit, according to the instructions provided with each sample collection kit, and shipped to a laboratory for processing and testing.

The anticipated study duration for most subjects is approximately 1 month to complete one round of HCC screening using the IvyGene Dx Liver Cancer Test, ultrasound, and diagnostic imaging.

For more information about the CLiMB trial, please visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03694600

About Laboratory for Advanced Medicine

LAM is a commercial-stage medical technology company focused on developing innovative, noninvasive, nontoxic technologies for the early diagnosis and intervention of cancers. The company is dedicated to building and growing world-class technologies from the laboratory to the clinic.

Headquartered in the United States with offices in California, Texas and Indiana, LAM has collaborations with leading scientists, physicians, research institutions and business leaders worldwide, combining their experiences to provide the most effective and safest diagnostic technologies to patients and their doctors. The company has CLIA-registered and CAP-accredited as well as third-party laboratories and cGMP facilities all working toward bringing first-class technologies to the medical community today.

SOURCE Laboratory for Advanced Medicine (LAM)

Related Links

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