New Test Approved for Detection of Recurrent Colorectal Cancer

Targeted Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Inc. announced it has received regulatory approval to immediately begin offering a new blood test called GCC-B1™ for the detection of recurrent colorectal cancer.

"We now can provide physicians and their patients with highly sensitive and specific testing for the detection of recurrent colorectal cancer," said Harry Arena, President & CEO. "By adding GCC-B1™ to monitoring protocols, physicians will have a powerful new tool to detect the presence of metastatic colorectal cancer cells in their patients. This could lead to much earlier detection of recurrent disease, which can be critical to the physician's ability to intervene effectively," Arena said.

At present, the test most commonly used for monitoring patients for recurrent disease is a test for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a general tumor marker developed almost 40 years ago that has a high rate of both false negatives and false positives.

TDT's new test can find 1 cancer cell in 10,000,000 normal cells by detecting the presence of guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C), which is found on metastatic colorectal cancer cells, a company spokesperson said. Detection of the presence of this marker in the blood is indicative of recurrent metastatic colorectal disease.

The GCC-B1™ blood tests can be processed only in TDT's laboratories in West Chester, PA. A collection kit with all of the components required for the collection and transport of patient blood specimens is available for immediate order.

Other Sources: TDT