Marlborough, MA and Cleveland, OH – (December 22, 2008) – EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) and University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) of Cleveland, Ohio today jointly announced that UHCMC has launched a program for stool-based DNA (sDNA) screening within its health care system at two sites comprising fifteen physicians. For patients unwilling or unable to obtain a colonoscopy, sDNA screening will now be the preferred method of screening offered at the sites. UHCMC will evaluate program performance to determine broader roll-out of sDNA screening system-wide.
“Among our guiding principles is to pursue and implement breakthrough medical advancements and practices to deliver superior clinical outcomes for our patients,” said Stanton Gerson, MD, Director, Ireland Cancer Center of UHCMC, Director of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University. “Our new sDNA screening initiative within UH Case Medical Center is an exciting example of this principle in action. Non-invasive sDNA screening includes the Vimentin gene, a genetic locus discovered by Dr. Sanford Markowitz of the Ireland Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve Medical School, a discovery that we believe can have a dramatic impact on increasing screening rates and decreasing mortality.”
“We applaud University Hospitals Case Medical Center in its commitment to early detection of colorectal cancer, especially in the year in which stool-based DNA technology was included in the colorectal cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society,” said Barry M. Berger, MD, Chief Medical Officer of EXACT Sciences. “Ohio and the bordering states of Indiana and West Virginia are among the ten states with the highest mortality rates from colorectal cancer in the United States according to the American Cancer Society. Through its use of sDNA technologies, we believe that UHCMC, a recognized center of excellence, has again distinguished itself as a leader in the use of innovation to improve patient outcomes.”
About Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is the most deadly cancer among non-smoking men and women in the United States, and the second most deadly cancer overall. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 150,000 cases will be diagnosed and 50,000 deaths are anticipated in 2008 due to this disease. Despite the availability of colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic tests for more than 20 years, the rate of early detection of colorectal cancer remains low, and deaths remain high. It is estimated that roughly one-third of colorectal cancer-related deaths could be avoided if more people underwent regular screening. Early diagnosis results in a greater than 90 percent, five-year survival rate.