Caris Life Sciences presented two studies during the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Fla., highlighting the company’s comprehensive, panomic tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence™, which can identify biomarkers to address both metastatic prostate cancer and small cell bladder cancer (SCBC).

In the first study, researchers reported that Caris Molecular Intelligence detected molecular alterations associated with metastatic prostate cancer. Scientists managed to identify a clinically targetable modification in 100 percent of the 497 cases assessed using Caris multiplatform strategy. The results may provide insights into potential therapeutic strategies, including a combination of targeted therapies like traditional cytotoxic chemotherapies.

In a second study, the company identified biomarkers with the potential to clear some confusion concerning treatment for those with SCBC, an aggressive and rare sub-type of bladder cancer that is extremely similar to small cell lung cancer and responds very poorly to chemotherapy.

The two research projects used Caris Molecular Intelligence’s approaches: gene sequencing (next-generation sequencing and Sanger), gene copy number analysis (fluorescence in situ hybridization or chromogenic) and protein expression analysis (immunohistochemistry). Scientists assessed tumor samples to look for molecular alterations that would point out potential therapeutic targets.

Sandeep K. Reddy, Caris Life Sciences’ representative said in a press release: “Prostate cancer and small cell bladder cancer present distinct sets of therapeutic challenges, in that the former may respond to a mix of novel and conventional therapies, while response and resistance mechanisms are still being elucidated for the latter. The data presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium demonstrate how multiplatform molecular profiling with Caris Molecular Intelligence can yield a better understanding of the molecular makeup of these challenging tumor types as a guide to therapeutic decision-making.”