MammaPrint, a breast cancer test invented and developed by the Dutch company Agendia, was named one of Time magazine's Best Invention's of 2007.
The test, called "Cancer's Crystal Ball" gives additional information on a patient's tumor to aid in deciding the best course of treatment by measuring the level of activity in 70 genes taken from a sample from a surgically removed breast cancer tumor. Then, using specific algorithms, it determines whether there is a high or low risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body. That determination helps doctors determine the next course of treatment and can mean less aggressive therapies are chosen. MammaPrint is the first test of its kind to be market approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"We are very pleased that we can help millions of women and that TIME has recognized our contribution to the advancement of health care across the globe, most notably in the field of oncology," said Bernhard Sixt, CEO and founder of Agendia. "This honour is a testament to our ongoing commitment to developing state-of-the-art technology for the benefit of cancer patients - not just in the field of breast cancer. In time, I think we'll be able to reach more people than ever before."
Agendia, located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a world leader in gene expression analysis-based diagnostics with three products on the market. The company focuses on the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests using tumour gene expression profiling. Agendia was the first company to commercialize such prognostic test - MammaPrint(R) - that predicts the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Its second microarray product, CupPrint(R)*, is a diagnostic test to identify the origin of a metastasis in a cancer type called "Cancer of Unknown Primary". Agendia recently also presented its new colon cancer prognosis profile, ColoPrint(R), which is currently undergoing further validation.
[Source: PRNewsWire]
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