GeneType Predicting Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: Major Breakthrough in Early Detection and Treatment


MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genetic Technologies Limited (ASX: GTG; NASDAQ: GENE, “Company”, “GTG”), a global leader in genomics-based tests in health, wellness and serious disease, is pleased to announce the publication of a peer-reviewed research paper validating geneType’s Pancreatic Cancer risk assessment test.

Highlights:

  • Pancreatic cancer has a very high mortality rate, approximately 76%1 of those diagnosed will die within 1 year. The five-year survival rate is only 9%2.
  • GeneType’s Pancreatic Cancer risk assessment test showed a nearly 50% improvement to the traditional clinical risk score in identifying patients at a high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
  • GeneType for Pancreatic Cancer will lead to a significant improvement to the number of pancreatic cancers being discovered earlier. When identified early, surgical intervention can save lives.
  • The study evaluated close to 380,000 adults aged 40 to 69 years from the UK Biobank, identifying 851 incident cases of pancreatic cancer, providing a very powerful validation of the geneType model.
  • Identifying those at-risk will enable doctors and their patients to increase surveillance and be proactive in their efforts to prevent the development of cancer.

The paper entitled “Predicting 10-year risk of pancreatic cancer using a combined genetic and clinical model” was published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances by GTG’s scientific team including Dr Erika Spaeth, Dr Gillian Dite and Dr Chi Kuen Wong along with co-authors Dr Richard Allman and Dr Nicholas Murphy.

Pancreatic cancer has the poorest 5-year survival rate of any major solid tumour, but when diagnosed at an early stage, survival rates improve. Population screening is impractical because pancreatic cancer is rare, with a lifetime risk of 1.7%. However, accurate risk stratification in the general population will enable healthcare providers to focus early detection strategies on high-risk individuals, potentially saving lives and improving health outcomes from this devastating disease.

GTG’s Chief Commercial Officer, Carl Stubbings said, “Around 65,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic in the U.S. this year and 50,000 people will die3. This devastating statistic is driven by late diagnosis of this cancer. Implementing geneType risk assessment test for pancreatic cancer will help doctors diagnose the disease earlier, intervene earlier and reduce this appalling mortality. This test really can make a difference in improving patient outcomes.”
GTG’s CEO, Simon Morriss added, “We are proud to be able to offer this doctor prescribed risk assessment test, as we believe it can lead to significant improvement to the survival rate of such a dreadful disease.”

Compared to a traditional clinical risk score, geneType for pancreatic cancer showed nearly a 50% improvement in identifying patients at a high risk of developing pancreatic cancer—these adults had 4-times the population risk.

Enquiries

Investor Relations
Adrian Mulcahy
Automic Markets
M: +61 438 630 411
E: adrian.mulcahy@automicgroup.com.au

About Genetic Technologies Limited

Genetic Technologies Limited (ASX: GTG; Nasdaq: GENE) is a diversified molecular diagnostics company. A global leader in genomics-based tests in health, wellness and serious disease through its geneType and EasyDNA brands. GTG offers cancer predictive testing and assessment tools to help physicians to improve health outcomes for people around the world. The company has a proprietary risk stratification platform that has been developed over the past decade and integrates clinical and genetic risk to deliver actionable outcomes to physicians and individuals. Leading the world in risk prediction in oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, Genetic Technologies continues to develop risk assessment products. For more information, please visit www.genetype.com

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1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396775/
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396775/
3 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/pancreatic-cancer/about/key-statistics.html