Massachusetts General Hospital to participate in PanFAM-1 hereditary pancreatic cancer risk study

Feb 9 2018

Immunovia AB today announced that Massachusetts General Hospital is to participate in PanFAM-1, a multicenter prospective validation study for the early diagnosis in high-risk individuals with Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC). Designed to validate Immunovia ́s blood test, IMMray^TM PanCan-d, the study will analyze more than thousand 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.

Working closely with several leading pancreatic cancer authorities, Immunovia identified three main criteria for the enrolment of the sites participating in the multisite prospective study. Massachusetts General Hospital fulfils all three: broad patient reach, an ongoing surveillance program for the familial pancreatic cancer risk group and world renowned clinical expertise in pancreatic cancer.

“There is a tremendous need for the early detection of pancreatic cancer in order to improve survival rates,” says Daniel C Chung, MD, clinical chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit and director of the High-Risk GI Cancer Clinic at Massachusetts General. “There are many individuals who have a high hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer and we are therefore pleased to join the PanFAM-1 study and investigate the clinical utility of IMMray^TM PanCan-d.”

“The recruitment of Massachusetts General Hospital as the latest PanFAM-1 center is highly encouraging. Dr. Chung´s team has been instrumental in building a case for hereditary screening and we believe the study will prove IMMray^TM PanCan-d is ideal for this purpose. Their participation, alongside other leading US centers, also vindicates our decision to establish a testing laboratory in Boston last year as part of our commitment to serving the market better,” commented Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.

The other PanFAM-1 partners to date are:  Mount Sinai in New York, Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, USA, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Liverpool, UK, Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research, Madrid, 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.