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Oxford University and GE Healthcare Announce Cancer Research Collaboration; Study May Lead to Earlier Detection and Targeted Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

Posted on: Thursday, 22 September 2005, 03:00 CDT

GE Healthcare, a division of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced today that it is to join forces with Oxford University to study the pathology of colorectal cancer, with the aim of achieving earlier diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The two-year collaboration is the first ever to focus on developing a comprehensive disease management program which will focus on improved staging of the disease using both imaging and genomic pathology, targeted therapy selection and efficacy assessment, and overall-treatment monitoring. A major goal will be to create a coherent picture of a patient's disease and determine the most effective treatment.

The study could act as a model for changing and improving the way a variety of cancers and other diseases are treated. GE Healthcare will contribute expertise in genomic and information technologies. Oxford University will provide clinical data and medical and research expertise.

The project aims to shift the colorectal cancer model from late disease - discovering diseases late when intervention is costly and less effective - to early health - predicting disease based on genetic analysis and selecting treatment customized to the individual. GE Healthcare and Oxford will study technology to aid in four major stages of disease identification and treatment - prediction, screening, diagnosis and treatment.

"The ultimate goal of the collaboration between GE Healthcare and Oxford University is to redefine the detection, diagnosis and treatment timeline of colorectal cancer," said Dr. Bill Clarke, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Medical Officer, GE Healthcare. "Better outcomes are dependent on earlier diagnosis followed by treatment tailored to the individual patient. This is a holistic and patient-focused approach - one we believe can have a meaningful and positive impact on people suffering from this life-threatening disease."

"Medicine today uses empirical data to determine disease; often times, diseases are detected late - in the last 10 percent of their cycle - when treatment is costly and limited," said John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford. "This means a 90 percent window of opportunity to see and treat the disease has been missed. By embracing preventative screening methods, patients increase their chances of survival; discovering a disease in its early stages is vital so that intervention is simple and more treatment options are available. Early detection and targeted therapy will result in improved, more effective care for the patient."

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the Western world, where the annual incidence in Western Europe and America is 370,000; however, with regular screenings and early action, colorectal cancer is 90 percent curable (National Institute of Health).

Once colorectal cancer has been diagnosed, the correct treatment needs to be selected. Currently, 60 percent of colorectal cancer patients receive chemotherapy to treat their disease; however, this form of treatment only benefits a few percent of the population, while carrying with it high risks of toxicity, thus demonstrating a need to better define the patient selection criteria, also according to the NIH.

Today's reliance on symptom-based observation to describe and flag colorectal cancer would be aided by a better knowledge of the disease and the patient through genetic analysis, according to Clarke.

"Understanding how and where disease begins provides the opportunity of better predicting that disease, selecting treatment that is most compatible with the individual, and starting that treatment at the earliest possible moment as to increase the chances of survival," said Clarke.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare's expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring and life support systems, disease research, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians detect disease earlier and tailor personalized treatments for their patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of products and services that are improving productivity in healthcare and enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare, is a USD 15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 43,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

About Oxford

As the oldest English-speaking University in the world, the University of Oxford can lay claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. The University of Oxford is internationally renowned for the quality and diversity of its research, with over 3000 academic staff and 3000 postgraduate students working on research. The University's position as a centre of excellence is enhanced by the ongoing development of interdisciplinary research centres, and collaboration with international academic and industrial partners.

Source: Business Wire

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