Spanish major private hospital joins world’s largest study of familiar risk for pancreatic cancer
PanFAM-1 is the largest ever prospective multicenter study for early detection of pancreatic cancer in one of the main risk groups – families with a history of the disease. The Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN) is the latest center to join others across North America and Europe in the trial which uses Immunovia’s innovative IMMrayTM PanCan-d, blood based test as its key tool. If successful it is estimated that survival rates could be improved from 5-8% to 50%.
LUND, Sweden, and Navarra, Spain ― Immunovia AB today announced that the renowned Clínica Universidad de Navarra is to participate in PanFAM-1, the largest ever prospective study looking at early diagnosis in high-risk individuals with Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC). Designed to validate Immunovia ́s innovative blood test, IMMrayTMPanCan-d, the study will analyze more than 1000 individuals over three years across sites in the US and Europe already offering FPC screening programs. The aim is to prove the overall healthcare benefits of testing hereditary pancreatic cancer patients.
Parallel to this, Immunovia is also running studies for other newly identified high risk groups, such as early onset diabetics over 50 years of age and patients presenting with early symptoms, suggestive of pancreatic cancer. The recruitment to this outstanding network of cancer centers is expanding according to plan and is planned to end during this year.
“An estimated 5-10% of pancreatic cancers diagnosed have a familial background, but symptoms are initially vague, such as back pain and weight loss and could be attributed to other disorders” says Dr. Maite Herraiz in charge of the study at Clinica Universidad de Navarra. “However, till now, we have lacked accurate non-invasive early diagnostic tools and a blood test such as IMMray™ PanCan-d could make a huge difference, especially since surgical intervention at the early stages does improve survival rates significantly,” says Dr. Mariano Ponz-Sarvisé, specialist in Medical Oncology at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra. “We have started a screening program with individuals that qualify for inclusion in this study and we are therefore very interested to join the PanFAM-1 study along with other colleagues around the world.”
“We are delighted that Clínica Universidad de Navarra have joined PanFAM-1. We are now closing in on our target of more than 1000 patients enrolled and look forward to presenting interim results in 2019,” commented Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.
The other PanFAM-1 partners to date are: Mount Sinai, New York; Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR; The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA; The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; NYU School of Medicine, New York; The University of Liverpool, UK; Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research Madrid, Spain; University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Advanced discussions over potential participation continue with several other European and US centers running high risk surveillance programs.
For more information, please contact:
Mats Grahn
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Immunovia
Tel.: +46-70-5320230
Email: mats.grahn@immunovia.com
About Clínica Universidad de Navarra
The Clínica Universidad de Navarra was founded in 1962, which offers over 50 years of experience, providing for more than 600,000 patients and their families that have placed their trust in the clinic, the best medical and personal treatment possible. The Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona is a 75,000 m2 facility spanning 50 medical departments and 10 specialized areas, and counting on more than 2,000 doctors and professionals to offer the best possible service. All analytical, radiodiagnostic and medical and surgical treatment tests are run on site. The Clinic features 250 beds, 15 operating rooms, an ICU for adults and children, and a Special Hospitalization Area, among other resources.
The Clínica Universidad de Navarra headquarters in Navarra has been an accredited center by Joint Commission International (JCI) since 2004 due to the quality and safety of the hospital. Furthermore, in February 2014 was the first center in Spain to gain accreditation from Joint Commission International for University Hospitals. It has been also accredited as Center of Excellence for the incorporation of palliative care and oncological treatment by ESMO.
More information can be found at https://www.cun.es/en.
About Immunovia
Immunovia AB was founded in 2007 by investigators from the Department of Immunotechnology at Lund University and CREATE Health, the Center for Translational Cancer Research in Lund, Sweden. Immunovia’s strategy is to decipher the wealth of information in blood and translate it into clinically useful tools to diagnose complex diseases such as cancer, earlier and more accurately than previously possible. Immunovia´s core technology platform, IMMray™, is based on antibody biomarker microarray analysis. The company is now performing clinical validation studies for the commercialization of IMMray™ PanCan-d that could be the first blood based test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In the beginning of 2016, the company started a program focused on autoimmune diseases diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring. The first test from this program, IMMray™ SLE-d, is a biomarker signature derived for differential diagnosis of lupus, now undergoing evaluation and validation. (Source: www.immunovia.com)
Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadly and difficult to detect cancers, as the signs and symptoms are diffuse and similar to other diseases. There are more than 40,000 deaths and over 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone, and the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is currently 5-8 %. It is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2020. However, because resection is more successful in stage I/II, early diagnosis can significantly improve pancreatic cancer patients’ 5-year survival rates from 5-8 % to up to 49%.
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