Seattle Genetics, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. The company also highlighted recent product development activities and planned milestones.

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of illness and death worldwide. But it is a complex behavior, and how much people smoke, how hard they find it to quit, and the impact of long-term smoking on health varies greatly among individuals. A substantial portion of this variability is genetic. Two years ago, deCODE discovered the first common, single-letter variation in the sequence of the human genome, on chromosome 15q25, associated with nicotine addiction and risk of lung cancer.

It is an accepted fact that genetics play a key role in a person's susceptibility to cancer, and that throughout life, mutations can cause damage to tumor suppressor genes further increasing the chances of developing cancerous tumors.

This remarkable publication focuses on the importance of genetics in mental retardation, investigating the extent to which molecular diagnostic capability and the understanding of genetic causes have improved over recent years. As a result, clinical evaluation and diagnostic laboratory practice are now undergoing an unprecedented period of change.

Effective immediately, SpectraCell Laboratories now offers apolipoprotein E genotyping. This test determines a person's genetic risk for heart disease associated with the commonly studied gene called apoE, which is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood).