H/i ratio predicts failure to tamoxifen therapy in recurrent breast cancer within a clinical validation study using a pre-determined cutpoint

Researchers from Erasmus Cancer Center validate the clinical
and prognostic utility of the HOXB13/IL17BR ratio in breast
cancer patients
Carlsbad, CA, February 26, 2007 – AviaraDx, Inc., a leader in molecular cancer
diagnostics, announced today the publication of an independent 1,252 patient
retrospective clinical validation study in the February 20, 2007 issue of the Journal of
Clinical Oncology entitled:“HOXB13-to-IL17BR expression ratio is related with tumor
aggressiveness and response to tamoxifen of recurrent breast cancer” by Maurice
Jansen, Anieta Sieuwerts, Jan Klijn, John Foekens, Els Berns, and colleagues at the
Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC/Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center,
Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Medical investigators at Erasmus Cancer Center have demonstrated that a high
HOXB13-to-IL17BR (‘H over I” or H/I) expression ratio in breast cancer is significantly
associated with both tumor aggressiveness and tamoxifen therapy outcome. Using a
cutpoint previously published by Ma et al.1, they show that a high H/I ratio within the
breast tumor is associated with poor response to tamoxifen therapy and shorter
progression-free survival. The study also confirmed the previously demonstrated
prognostic utility of the H/I ratio in untreated, ER+, node-negative breast cancer
patients1. 2, 3.
“This study by our researchers is significant because it validates the clinical utility of the
H/I ratio in patients receiving tamoxifen therapy, in cases for advanced/metastatic
disease, using a previously defined cutpoint.” said Professor Dr. Jan Klijn, Head of the
Division of Endocrine Oncology at Erasmus Medical Center. To this, Antonius Schuh,
Chief Executive Officer of AviaraDx, adds “We are excited about the rapidly growing
body of evidence supporting the clinical utility of the H/I ratio in the management of
breast cancer patients. Our new diagnostic test (H/I ratio) can be used by clinicians to
assess prognosis and risk of recurrence due to estrogen signaling dysfunction.”
1 Ma et al., The HOXB13:IL17BR Expression Index is a Prognostic Factor in Early Stage Breast Cancer. J.
Clinical Oncology, 24:28, 4611-4619 (2006) 2 Goetz et al., A Two-gene Expression Ratio of HOXB13 and IL-17BR for Prediction of Recurrence and Survival in Women Receiving Adjuvant Tamoxifen. Clinical Cancer Res., Apr (12): 2080-2087 (2006) 3 Ma et al., A two-gene expression ratio predicts clinical outcome in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen. Cancer Cell, Jun;5(6):607-16 (2004). About Breast Cancer
There are over 274,000 new breast cancer cases annually of which approximately 115,000 cases are classified as estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and node negative. As a population, ER+/node negative patients have a good 5-year survival prognosis when treated with surgery and hormonal therapy. However, 15% of these ER+/node-negative patients will develop a subsequent breast cancer recurrence within 10 years. The H/I ratio is an important test suitable to identify those women with an elevated risk of breast cancer recurrence due to estrogen signaling dysfunction and aids the clinician in the selection of appropriate treatment and monitoring. About AviaraDx, Inc.
AviaraDx, Inc. is focused on developing and commercializing molecular diagnostic
technologies and high value assays for personalized medicine in cancer treatment. The
company is targeting the oncology market with three first-in-class molecular cancer
profiling technologies: Molecular Cancer Classification and Identification for Cancer of
the Unknown Primary, Breast Cancer Assays such as HOXB13/IL17BR, and Drug
Response Profiling Assays. AviaraDx has licensed its technologies for specific clinical
indications to reference laboratories in the United States and Europe. Please visit the
for more information.

Source: http://www.biotheranostics.com/docs/AviaraDx_Press_Release_070226.pdf?phpMyAdmin=U7EmMcVeMAB1dj-5WoYdgIGuk9a