RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., June 18, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- BioCurex Inc. (OTCBB:BOCX) announces an estimate of 25% penetration of this $200 million market within the next 3 years via licensing agreements with major diagnostic companies on a worldwide basis. The results further support the use of Serum-RECAF(tm) as a universal cancer marker with a potential total market size for all cancers of $2 billion per year.
The results for ovarian cancer using Serum-RECAF(tm) show a sensitivity of 90% with 95% specificity (see Note B). The current marker of choice for ovarian cancer is CA-125 and it has a sensitivity of only 77% (Dis. Markers 1998, 14(3), 155-60) compared to the 90% found with Serum-RECAF(tm).
The study included approximately 140 normal blood samples and 140 ovarian cancer samples.
The accumulated results so far obtained with Serum-RECAF(tm) are summarized in the table below:
Cancer Type Sensitivity Cases Ovary 90% 140 Breast 100% 22 Stomach 84% 31 Miscellaneous 100% 39 TOTAL 91% 232
Dr. Moro stated: "Statistics are cold numbers. What these results really mean is that using Serum-RECAF(tm) we could detect every year, an additional 3,500 women in the USA and 70,000 worldwide that would be diagnosed as negative with the standard test for ovarian cancer. Moreover, the fact that the test is more sensitive than CA-125 suggests that it could detect ovarian cancers at an earlier stage.
There is additional work that needs to be done and our results need to be validated by independent laboratories, an initiative we are pursuing vigorously. However, we have now accumulated over 200 samples from different types of cancer and the overall rate of detection is an impressive 90% with 95% specificity."
Dr. Moro added: "The ovarian cancer results are consistent with those obtained on other types of cancer and further support the concept that Serum-RECAF(tm) can be used as a universal cancer test, suitable for massive screening. This has obvious implications from a medical point of view, as well as from a commercial point of view."
About BioCurex:
BioCurex, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing products based on patented/proprietary technology in the areas of cancer diagnosis, tumor imaging ad therapeutics. The technology identifies a cancer marker known as RECAF(tm), which is found on malignant cells from a variety of cancer types but is absent in most normal or benign cells. The Histo-RECAF(tm) kits provide proof of concept for the RECAF technology. Detailed information about BioCurex may be obtained from its website at www.biocurex.biz.
Note: The Company has not authorized the release of this information in any form that contravenes the Communication Act and will not be responsible for unsolicited massive distribution of this material by e-mail or facsimile by unauthorized parties. Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements'' within the meaning given to that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.
Note B: Sensitivity is the number of true cancers picked by the test. Specificity is the percentage of normal samples that are negative with the test. Since 100% specificity is usually unattainable in biological systems, sensitivity is measured at an accepted specificity value of 95%.