Michael Sanders, MD, Assistant Professor; Randall Brand, MD, Visiting Professor of Medicine; and David Whitcomb, MD, PhD, Giant Eagle Professor of Cancer Genetics, Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology & Physiology, and Human Genetics, and Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Darwin Conwell, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Linda S. Lee, MD, EUS Endoscopist and Medical Director of Women ™s GI Health, Center for Pancreatic Disease, Brigham and Women ™s Hospital (Boston) Shivakumar Vignesh, MD, Associate Professor of Oncologic Sciences; Mokenge P. Malafa, MD, FACS, Chair, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology and Program Leader GI Tumor Program; Jason Klapman, MD, Assistant Professor Oncological Sciences; James Barthel, MD, FACP, FACG, FASGE, Section Head Endoscopic Oncology; Barbara Centeno, MD, Senior Member, Anatomic Pathology and Professor, Department of Oncologic Sciences; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.) Gregory Tsongalis, MHS, PhD, Director of Molecular Pathology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, N.H.) Jean Morisset, PhD, Associate Professor, George Rateb, MD, Assistant Professor; Charles Menard, BPharm, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, University of Sherbrooke, (Quebec, Canada).

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most prevalent form of pancreatic cancer and one of the most deadly cancers. Survival rates are low due to the lack of early detection and the lack of effective therapies. Asuragen ™s miRNA test currently uses formalin-fixed biopsy or resection specimens and detects miRNAs that can distinguish pancreatic cancer from benign chronic pancreatitis. This FFPE-based test is intended to provide valuable information to physicians to resolve cases for which standard cytopathology results are inconclusive, which can often occur in pancreatic diseases. These research collaborations will help Asuragen evaluate the potential clinical utility and diagnostic performance of miRNAs for diagnosing pancreatic cancer using FNA biopsies, which can be obtained less invasively and may allow patients to avoid unnecessary surgery.

SOURCE Asuragen Inc.