miR Scientific launches "Can do Blue" on September 1, 2022, as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

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• Latin America - español
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NEW YORK and SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- miR Scientific, LLC announced the launch of national event #CanDoBlue to create awareness of the need for widespread prostate cancer testing during the 2022 Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (also known as "PCAM"). On September 1, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Puerto Rico will simultaneously light up dozens of landmarks and buildings in blue to call attention to the urgent need for getting men tested for this aggressive type of cancer.

Across North America, September is recognized as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by healthcare experts, advocates and organizations concerned with men's prostate health. miR Scientific's goal is to introduce #CanDoBlue into men's health conversations in Canada, Israel, Japan, the U.S., Puerto Rico, Singapore, and other global markets. For Puerto Rico, the hashtag that will highlight the event has been adapted to #VísteteDeAzul.

Last month the company announced that miR Sentinel™ Prostate Cancer Test is commercially available in the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. miR Sentinel™ is a novel, urine-based, molecular test that analyzes small non-coding RNA using a proprietary biostatistical algorithm. The miR Sentinel™ Test assesses the risk of aggressive prostate cancer and is intended to aid in the detection and clinical management of men >45 years of age at risk for prostate cancer.

"An estimated 268,490 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 according to the American Cancer Society. miR Scientific's vision is to revolutionize prostate cancer disease management by improving accessibility and accuracy of the tools used to assess each man's personal risk of this aggressive disease. To achieve this we need to create awareness of the urgency of getting tested," said Sam Salman, Chairman and CEO of miR Scientific. 

"We believe that the miR Sentinel Test offers patients and providers a non-invasive means of accurately assessing a man's prostate cancer risk, which could potentially reduce unnecessary biopsies and biopsy-related complications in men with low-risk of clinically significant prostate cancer, while prioritizing diagnostic and treatment resources to those men that potentially harbor clinically significant prostate cancer," added Salman.

In Puerto Rico, where extensive testing was conducted by the company, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, and the leading cause of cancer deaths among men. The rate of prostate cancer on the Island is 149% higher than in the mainland United States and is 65% more likely to be diagnosed in a late stage of the disease. Since October 2019, miR Scientific has been committed to improving prostate cancer outcomes for men in Puerto Rico and created a coalition of doctors, academics, universities, and the government to create a movement that the company hopes will encourage men to get tested.

The first Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Puerto Rico was observed in September 2021. miR Scientific worked closely with Governor Pedro Pierluisi and the Senate of Puerto Rico to bring attention to a topic that is seldom discussed by Puerto Rican men.

"#CANDOBLUE is a global movement that started in Puerto Rico and now is expanding to the US and other global markets. Our coalition's partners have signed agreements to help us educate, empower, and engage others to raise awareness about prostate cancer. Our partners include Puerto Rico Urological Group, Empresas River Siaca, Grupo Ferré Rangel, D Group Equities Management Corp., ZERO - The End of Prostate Cancer, Fans for the Cure, Puerto Rico Consortium for Clinical Investigation, Partnership for Modern Puerto Rico, Synercode, PR5G, Health Front Group, Puerto Rico Federal Affairs and Administration, and San Juan Bautista School of Medicine Clinical Research Unit," noted Arminda "Mindy" Figueroa, Chief of Staff & Country Manager for Puerto Rico.

The results of miR Scientific's recent clinical study performed at multiple sites within the US and Puerto Rico were presented at the 2022 American Urological Association's Annual Meeting. The results show that in the study cohort of ~1100 men, the miR Sentinel™ Test identified molecular evidence of prostate cancer in at-risk men with 98.5% sensitivity and distinguish clinically non-significant (nominally No Pathological Evidence of Prostate Cancer and Grade Group 1), from clinically significant prostate cancer (nominally Grade Groups 2-5) with a prognostic sensitivity of 83%.

Additional information on the miR Sentinel™ Prostate Cancer Test as well as information on how to access the test can be found by visiting miRSentinel.com or calling 855-55CALLMIR from the United States or +1 (855) 552-2556.

Join the #CanDoBlue movement! For more information visit CanDoBlue.org

About miR Scientific: 

miR Scientific, LLC is a healthcare company committed to transforming global cancer management by providing early and highly accurate detection, characterization, and monitoring of disease. The Company's proprietary miR Disease Management Platform® was developed to assist providers in effectively managing targeted diseases, initially focused on urological cancers.

The platform powers the miR Sentinel™ Prostate Cancer Test, a liquid biopsy urine test that can accurately detect, classify, and monitor prostate cancer based on the interrogation of small-non-coding RNAs extracted from urinary exosomes.

Media Contact: Arminda 'Mindy' Figueroa, [email protected]

SOURCE miR Scientific, LLC