Recently,
Genomic Health
(
GHDX
) announced the positive result of a study on Oncotype DX to
estimate the risk of loco-regional recurrence (LRR) in
node-positive, estrogen receptor breast cancer patients, who were
treated with adjuvant hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. The
study was first presented in the 2013 Society of Surgical
Oncology, Md.
Genomic Health encouragingly noted that Oncotype DX remains
significantly effective for the ER-positive lymph node-positive
breast cancer patients. According to the data, apart from
identifying patents who will respond positively to adjuvant
chemo-endocrine therapy, Oncotype DX can help the physicians'
decision on radiation treatment.
The company's lead product, the Oncotype DX breast cancer, has
already been proved effective in predicting chemotherapy benefit
in both node-negative and node-positive breast cancer. It is used
to predict the likelihood of cancer recurrence in ductal
carcinoma in situ (DCIS), patient survival within 10 years of
diagnosis and chemotherapy benefit for early stage breast cancer
patients.
The latest result will further enhance this product's efficacy
by finding the intensity and extent of radiation in breast cancer
patients with node-positive disease.
As a global cancer company, Genomic Health is focused on the
development and commercialization of genomic-based clinical tests
for cancer diagnosis that enables physicians to make
individualized treatment decisions. Banking on several strategies
directed toward an increasing acceptance of the Oncotype DX
breast test, Genomic is well placed to make the most of the huge
market potential.
Earlier this month, the company announced the results of 2
studies, which were conducted to determine RNA-Sequencing and
Mutation Identification. According to the results, DNA
strand-of-origin information can help refine the process of
identification of prognostic biomarkers, while gene mutations
related to tumors can be tested with archival fixed paraffin
embedded tumor (FPET) tissue, thus allowing an advanced tumor
analysis process.
The company strongly believes that these findings will further
strengthen its advanced next generation sequencing (NGS) platform
and accelerate the development of the future tests that combine
both whole transcriptome profiling and mutation analysis.
Genomic Health carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other medical
device stocks worth a look are
Given Imaging
(
GIVN
),
Medical Action Industries Inc.
(
MDCI
) and
Cytokinetics Incorporated
(
CYTK
). All the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
CYTOKINETCS INC (CYTK): Free Stock Analysis
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GENOMIC HEALTH (GHDX): Free Stock Analysis
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GIVEN IMAGING (GIVN): Free Stock Analysis
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MEDICAL ACTION (MDCI): Free Stock Analysis
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