Cytocell Ltd Introduces New Haematology FISH Probes for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL)
CAMBRIDGE, England, November 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Cytocell Ltd. announced the availability of a new range of in vitro diagnostic tests to aid in detecting patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL), a cancer of the lymphocytes.
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The new range of Cytocell CLL FISH probes includes the new CLL PROFILER Kit comprising of the P53/ATM Probe Combination and a newly developed D13S319/13qter/12cen Deletion/Enumeration probe. In total Cytocell has 19 different FISH probes specifically designed with the intention of detecting abnormalities of the most common genes linked with CLL.
CLL is the most common form of leukaemia in the U.S. and Europe and is most commonly found in Caucasian men 60 years and older. In the United States, more than 15,000 patients are diagnosed with CLL each year, many of whom are discovered during routine medical exams. CLL progresses more slowly than other types of leukaemia and most patients diagnosed with CLL have early-stage disease. Up to 50 percent are at risk for accelerated progression while others live for many years and often do not require therapy.
Cytocell's Aquarius® CLL PROFILER kit detects cytogenetic abnormalities in bone marrow specimens and peripheral blood samples from patients with CLL. Deletions of ATM and TP53 are the most serious rearrangements involved in CLL and detection of deletions of these genes provides very important information as to the therapy choices for such patients, especially since deletions of TP53 and ATM provide a poor prognosis.
"These new additions to our catalogue augments our already extensive collection of FISH probes for leukaemia and provides comprehensive solution to the diagnosis of CLL," said Dr Martin Lawrie, Managing Director of Cytocell. "The launch of this product demonstrates our continued focus on our range of Haematology probes which is continually growing. We also believe that through our Custom FISH probe service, myProbes, we will be able to offer more and more of such products for Haematology, driven by the clinical requirements of our customers."
About FISH
Chromosomal abnormalities have been shown to play a major role in disease evolution in several haematological malignancies. Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH), using locus-specific probes, which are capable of defining numerical and structural chromosome changes, has now become a routine diagnostic test in the clinical laboratory and the technique has thus been shown to be useful in the management of cancer patients.
About Cytocell Ltd.
Cytocell is a leading European developer and manufacturer of FISH probes for use in both routine cytogenetics and in the analysis and classification of Cancers. The Company's products are well established in Cytogenetics as the Company is celebrating its 20th year of supplying them to this market. More recently, the Company has focused on developing products for Oncology and now has a catalogue of some 350 products for Cytogenetics, Haematology and Solid Tumour analysis as well as developing custom FISH probes for customers with specific interests under the myProbes® brand. Cytocell's products are available through a well established distributor network, covering more than 60 countries worldwide. Cytocell's FISH probe service is currently proving to be invaluable to cancer researchers and clinicians worldwide.
Cytocell's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.cytocell.com.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Stewart Kennedy,
Sales & Marketing Director
Tel: +44(0)7860-455527
SOURCE Cytocell Ltd
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