San Diego, CA, Dec. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biotheranostics announces Mark D. Pegram, MD as Chief Medical Advisor of Breast Oncology in support of Breast Cancer Index, the only commercially available genomic assay to help inform the decision of extended endocrine therapy based on prediction of benefit for HR+, early-stage breast cancer patients. Dr. Pegram is a key leader in breast oncology with 27 years of experience managing patients and leading research initiatives to further advance the management of breast oncology, bringing tremendous expertise to Biotheranostics and clinical vision for its Breast Cancer Index assay.
Dr. Mark D. Pegram is the Suzy Yuan-Huey Hung Endowed Professor of Medical Oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute (SCCI). He also serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research Quality at the Stanford University School of Medicine and is the Medical Director of the Stanford Clinical Translational Research Unit – a unit specializing in first-in-human phase I clinical trials. Dr. Pegram’s research efforts have resulted in more than 110 publications in preclinical model systems, as well as phase I, II and III clinical trials across different cancer types, most with a breast cancer focus.
Through his consultancy role as Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Pegram will help lead peer to peer medical strategy and education on the clinical utility of the Breast Cancer Index, supported by highly consistent findings from translational evidence in multiple large, prospective, randomized clinical trials. Dr. Pegram will help to further educate practitioners on the importance of individualizing extended endocrine therapy decision-making based on predicting patient benefit and the growing body of predictive evidence supporting Breast Cancer Index, balanced against the known toxicities associated with extended adjuvant endocrine therapy. He will also provide key insights into future development and pipeline strategy.
Dr. Pegram affirms, “Whether or not to treat hormone receptor positive early stage breast cancer with extended adjuvant endocrine therapy is one of the most challenging questions we and our patients face in breast oncology. Clinical decision making informed by precision medicine approaches such as the BCI is an important advance beyond routine clinical parameters such as stage, grade, proliferation markers and steroid receptor expression levels, to better predict who will truly benefit from extended adjuvant endocrine therapy versus those who may safely avoid the significant toxicities of such therapy.”
Don Hardison, Biotheranostics’ President and CEO adds, “We are thrilled to have Dr. Mark Pegram join Dr. Anthony Greco as Chief Medical Advisors for our two proprietary tests Breast Cancer Index and CancerTYPE ID.”
About Breast Cancer Index
Breast Cancer Index is a molecular, gene expression-based test uniquely positioned to provide information to help physicians individualize treatment decisions for patients with early stage, HR+ breast cancer. This breakthrough test helps oncologists and patients navigate the difficult trade-off between taking steps to prevent recurrence of their disease and facing significant side effects and safety challenges related to unnecessary treatment. Breast Cancer Index holds guidelines designation from the American Joint Committee on Cancer for cancer staging based on molecular profile; ASCO, NCCN, European Group on Tumor Markers (EGTM), and St. Gallen to inform the chemotherapy decision; and ASCO and EGTM to inform the extended endocrine treatment dilemma. It is the only validated, commercially available test that provides risk of overall and late distant recurrence and predicts the likelihood of benefit from extended endocrine therapy. For more information, visit www.breastcancerindex.com.
About Biotheranostics
Biotheranostics, Inc. operates a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited diagnostic laboratory in San Diego, California. Biotheranostics, Inc., is a leading healthcare provider in the oncology field assisting physicians in the treatment of cancer patients. Its suite of proprietary molecular diagnostic tests provides important information to physicians to tailor treatment to individual patients. The company's Breast Cancer Index and CancerTYPE ID® tests address a variety of unmet medical needs in the management of cancer patients, and extensive clinical studies have confirmed the accuracy, clinical validity, clinical utility, and cost-effectiveness of the tests. Learn more at www.breastcancerindex.com.