Strong prognostic efficacy for Epigemonics' PITX2

Epigenomics AG, a Germany-based molecular diagnostics company, has reported positive results from a study investigating the prognostic power of its proprietary PITX2 DNA methylation biomarker in early-stage breast cancer.

According to the Berlin-headquartered firm, the evaluation confirmed that the marker is of prognostic value for making treatment decisions. Previously, the firm demonstrated a correlation between the presence of low levels of PITX2 gene methylation and low risk of metastasis development and vice versa in prostate cancer patients and in patients with node-negative, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. The present study investigated 395 breast cancer patients suffering from the more aggressive lymph node positive form of the disease.