New Jersey-based Cancer Genetics, Inc., a provider of oncology-focused personalized medicine, has launched a proprietary urogenital cancer array, UroGenRA, intended for kidney cancer diagnosis and subtyping in its own laboratory. The company has received regulatory approvals from both CLIA and New York State and will offer the genomic microarray as part of its Kidney CompleteSM Program.
Currently, kidney cancers are classified based on morphology into several subtypes which drive treatment decisions. Renal neoplasms are often initially diagnosed as small renal masses by computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging while patients are still asymptomatic. However, imaging techniques are of limited help in distinguishing between benign and malignant forms and determining the proper subtype.
CGI’s UroGenRA-Kidney provides critical genomic data that allows for an accurate discrimination among the three malignant renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes—clear cell, papillary, and chromophobe RCC—and a benign form of renal cancer, oncocytoma, and for the proper therapy selection depending on the kidney cancer subtype. This genomic-based assessment has the potential to improve diagnosis and prevent unnecessary and costly surgical procedures.
The UroGenRA-Kidney has been developed to assist in the diagnosis of both needle biopsy and resected specimens. Cancer Genetics representatives say that the test will help to devise proper therapy selection based on the tumor genomic profiling for kidney patients without the need for invasive surgery. This microarray test joins other proprietary genomic testing solutions offered by CGI that target personalized cancer treatment.
