Caris Life Sciences Advances Precision Medicine for Cancer Patients through Groundbreaking Tumor Profiling Research at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting

IRVING, Texas, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences, a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced the acceptance of 34 key clinical studies by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for their 50^th annual meeting to be held May 30 through June 3 in Chicago.  All studies utilized Caris Molecular Intelligence™, the company's comprehensive tumor profiling service, which provides valuable information to oncologists and their patients about their unique cancer.  These studies, conducted with leading academic and clinical institutions across a variety of tumor types, will significantly advance the molecular understanding of cancer and feature the first data presentation from the Caris Registry^™, a multi-center, observational outcomes database designed to collect data on the demographics, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, resource use, and outcomes of eligible patients who previously have undergone Caris Molecular Intelligence^™ testing for treatment of solid tumor cancer. 

Of the 34 accepted abstracts, which include studies conducted in partnership with leading academic and clinical institutions such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Mayo Clinic, Washington University, Ohio State University and the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Caris was awarded two oral presentations, one of which was designated a Clinical Science Symposium. In addition, Caris' data acceptance also includes 20 poster presentations, including seven that were chosen as poster highlight sessions, in which the data will be discussed by a panel of experts in the context of similar data presented in other posters in the same category. These important clinical studies encompass a broad and deep range of tumor types, including sarcoma, gastrointestinal cancers and gynecologic malignancies.

"These studies reflect Caris Life Sciences' leadership role in advancing the understanding of cancer," commented David D. Halbert, chairman and chief executive officer of Caris Life Sciences. "These studies continue to highlight that every cancer is unique.  With over 60,000 cancer patients profiled, we are now able to understand that cancer is a pathway-driven disease that cannot be sufficiently treated by identifying lineage or location alone.  Partnering with world-class institutions to advance the understanding of cancer and making that knowledge available to the oncology community, significantly improves each patient's opportunity to defeat this dreaded disease."

"Unlike many of the research advances to be presented at ASCO, for which clinical applications may be years away, the Caris Life Sciences data provide insights that can inform therapeutic decision-making today," noted Sandeep K. Reddy, M.D., senior medical director, Caris Life Sciences. "This emphasis on clinical utility is especially crucial for patients with rare, aggressive or refractory cancers, who typically have significant therapeutic ambiguity. As such, from both research and clinical offering perspectives, Caris remains focused on providing the most treatment options possible to oncologists and their patients."

Notable Caris Life Sciences datasets include the following ASCO presentations:

• Saturday, May 31, 8:00-11:45 am, S Hall A2.
  General poster session: "The impact of tumor molecular profile-directed treatment on survival in recurrent ovarian cancer," presented by Kate E. Oliver, MD, Inova Fairfax Hospital. Abstract #5591.

• Saturday, May 31, 8:00-11:45 am, S Hall A2.
  General poster session: "Molecular profiling of 6,892 colorectal cancer patients to identify potential targeted treatment options," presented by Wafik El-Diery, MD, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute. Abstract #3637.

• Monday, June 2, 1:15-2:45 pm, S406.
  Clinical Science Symposium: "Predictive biomarker profiling of >1900 sarcomas: Identification of potential novel treatment modalities," presented by Sujana Movva, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center. Abstract #10509.

• Monday, June 2, 1:15-4:45 pm, E354b, and 4:45-6:00 pm, E Hall D1.
  Poster highlight session: "Genomic and protein alterations in 126 triple negative (TN) metaplastic breast cancers," presented by Joyce O'Shaughnessy, MD, Baylor-Sammons Cancer Center. Abstract #1029.

• Tuesday, June 3, 9:45 am-12:45 pm, E Hall D1.
  Oral abstract session: "Expression of novel immunotherapeutic targets in triple negative breast cancer," presented by Barbara Pockaj, MD, Mayo Clinic. Abstract #1001.

About Caris Molecular Intelligence™

Caris Molecular Intelligence™, the industry's leading cancer molecular profiling service, helps oncologists treat cancer smarter by delivering the most potential treatment options for patients. This service has been used by more than 6,000 oncologists to develop individualized and actionable treatment plans for more than 60,000 cancer patients in 59 countries across the globe. Caris Molecular Intelligence integrates the latest relevant genomic data from clinical studies in cancer and cancer biology to identify the most clinically actionable drug associations approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration or in active clinical trials in the United States. Beyond standard DNA analysis, Caris Molecular Intelligence assesses all relevant biological components, such as RNA, protein expression and gene amplification levels, to provide oncologists with the most treatment options for their patients. Currently, Caris can identify therapeutic guidance for up to 51 drug associations, far exceeding the 19 that can be identified using next-generation sequencing alone. This therapeutic guidance is electronically delivered to the ordering physician in an easy-to-read report that enables development of tailored treatment plans. For more information on Caris Molecular Intelligence, visit www.carismolecularintelligence.com.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences is a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine. Caris Molecular Intelligence™, the industry's first and largest tumor profiling service, provides an oncologist with the most potentially clinically actionable treatment options available to personalize care today. Using a variety of advanced and clinically-relevant technologies that assess all relevant biological components of a patient's cancer, Caris Molecular Intelligence correlates molecular data generated from a tumor with biomarker/drug associations derived from clinical cancer literature. The company is also developing a series of blood tests based on its proprietary Carisome® TOP™ platform, a revolutionary blood-based testing technology for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranostics of cancer and other complex diseases. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.carislifesciences.com.

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SOURCE Caris Life Sciences