National Academy of Medicine Ovarian Cancer Report Ignites Reaction from Vermillion & OVA1® Awareness Team

AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML), a bio-analytical solutions company focused on gynecologic disease, responded to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) March report on ovarian cancer by launching a first of its kind pelvic mass website www.KnowPelvicMass.com along with a national advertising campaign debuting in USA TODAY on March 11^th which spotlights pelvic mass. 

The website www.KnowPelvicMass.com educates women about signs and symptoms of pelvic mass as well as the relationship between pelvic mass and ovarian cancer.  The ad campaign will feature the website along with the OVA1 Blood Test Awareness Team:

• NASCAR's Martin Truex, Jr., & girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, an Ovarian Cancer Thriver
• Olympic Gymnast, Shannon Miller, an Ovarian Cancer Survivor
• Broadway Star, Valisia LeKae, an Ovarian Cancer Survivor

"I was stunned when I learned I had a pelvic mass and eventually ovarian cancer.  I overlooked the signs and symptoms. I was very lucky that I had excellent care. My Gynecologist immediately referred me to a gynecologic oncologist to treat my pelvic mass.  Today, I am cancer free.  However, women should not be relying on luck to get the right pelvic mass treatment.  This new website offers women with the information they need to get the best treatment possible," said Shannon Miller, Olympic gymnast and Ova1 Blood Test Awareness Teammate.

The March NAM report on ovarian cancer alerted the public that less than one-half of women with ovarian cancer receive proper care. "While women who receive care in accordance with national clinical practice guidelines have considerably better clinical outcomes—including improved survival—less than half of women with ovarian cancer receive such care." 

"As an ovarian cancer thriver I can tell you, this finding in the NAM report is not a surprise. People in the ovarian cancer community have been talking about this for years. I bounced around from doctor to doctor, delaying the correct diagnosis.  I had never heard of a pelvic mass but was fortunate enough to land in the hands of the right gynecologic oncologist for my first surgery," said Sherry Pollex, member of the OVA1 Blood Test Awareness Team.

Vermillion's advertisement and website alerts women to the risk of treating pelvic mass signs and symptoms as regular female discomfort (persistent bloating, fatigue, pelvic pain, weight loss, frequent urination).  The website offers a quiz to help women gather the information they need to discuss their risk of pelvic mass and ovarian cancer with their physician.

"The pelvic mass diagnosis is where we can make an absolute difference in the fight against ovarian cancer.  Women need to UNDERSTAND PELVIC MASS. While most pelvic masses are NOT cancerous, a woman ultimately diagnosed with ovarian cancer increases her survival rate 30-40% if the first doctor who operates on her pelvic mass is a skilled gynecologic oncologist.  This is the proper care that, according to the NAM report, more than half of women are missing.  Being treated by the right doctor at the time of the first surgery is imperative and the OVA1 blood test can help address that problem and guide women and their doctors to the appropriate treatment," said Dr. Judy Wolf, a gynecologic oncologist who left a career spanning 20+ years saving lives in the operating room to lead Vermillion as Chief Medical Officer and focus on improving diagnosing of ovarian cancer before woman reach the operating room table.

Vermillion's ASPiRA Labs is the sole provider of the OVA1 blood test, the first FDA approved blood test that evaluates the risk for cancer in a pelvic mass when a woman is planned for surgery.  The OVA1 test is the true "liquid biopsy" which has a 96% cancer detection rate and advises a clinician in determining if the patient should have their surgical treatment performed by a skilled gynecologic oncologist or a regular gynecologist.  Vermillion believes that the OVA1 blood test should be routine for OBGYNs when making surgical decisions for their patients. 

For more information on the National Academy of Medicine Report: http://iom.nationalacademies.org/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2016/OvarianCancers_RiB.pdf

About Vermillion, Inc.
Vermillion, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel high-value diagnostic and bio-analytical solutions that help physicians diagnose, treat and improve gynecologic health outcomes for women. Vermillion, along with its prestigious scientific collaborators, has diagnostic programs in gynecologic disease. The company's lead diagnostic in the United States, OVA1, is a blood test for pre-surgical assessment of ovarian tumors for malignancy, using an innovative algorithmic approach and is available through Vermillion's wholly owned subsidiary, ASPiRA LABS. OVA1, which was the first FDA-cleared, protein-based In Vitro Diagnostic Multivariate Index Liquid Biopsy Assay, represents a new class of software-based diagnostics. For additional information, including published clinical trials, visit www.vermillion.com.

About OVA1

• OVA1 is a proprietary FDA-cleared blood test to help physicians assess the risk of ovarian cancer prior to surgery and as a result provide early detection and triage of high risk patients to a specialist (gynecologic oncologist) for surgical treatment
• The OvaCalc^® proprietary algorithm combines five biomarker results into a single numerical "risk score" that stratifies patients into "higher risk" and "lower risk" when combined with clinical assessment
• In two pivotal clinical trials, OVA1 plus clinical impression detected 96% of all malignancies vs. 75% for clinical impression alone. It subsequently reduced false negatives from 25% to 4%, a reduction of 83%
• For early-stage cancers specifically, on average 31% are missed by clinical impression alone. This was reduced to 5% when OVA1 was added to clinical impression, a reduction of 85%
• Vermillion has developed a next-generation test, Overa, which is CE marked and is pending FDA clearance

Media Contact
Katie Leighton
302-475-1480o/610-513-6930c
[email protected]                                          

SOURCE Vermillion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vermillion.com