Veracyte Unveils Afirma Xpression Atlas Platform at ENDO 2018
The Afirma Xpression Atlas will provide data on 761 DNA variants and 130 RNA fusions in over 500 genes, which have been shown to be associated with thyroid cancer. The panel was derived from an extensive literature review, including findings from the National Institutes of Health’s Cancer Genome Atlas study of papillary thyroid carcinoma.
“Our RNA sequencing-based platform enables us to derive unprecedented amounts of rich genomic content from clinical samples,” said Giulia C. Kennedy, Ph.D., Veracyte’s chief scientific and medical officer. “We believe that use of the new Afirma Xpression Atlas will help guide surgery decisions and treatment options for patients with suspicious thyroid nodules who are likely heading to surgery. Together with the Afirma GSC, which is already widely used to identify patients with benign nodules who can avoid unnecessary surgery, the Afirma Xpression Atlas will enable us to provide physicians with the most comprehensive solution available for use in thyroid cancer diagnosis.”
Veracyte plans to unveil performance data for and commercially launch the Afirma Xpression Atlas during the second quarter of 2018.
About Afirma
The Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier combines RNA sequencing data with machine learning to identify patients with benign thyroid nodules among those with indeterminate cytopathology results in order to preserve the thyroid. Since the commercial introduction of Afirma in 2011, Veracyte has performed over 100,000 genomic tests, and estimates it has saved more than 40,000 patients from unnecessary thyroid surgery and removed an estimated $800 million in surgery costs from the healthcare system. The Afirma classifier is included in most leading clinical guidelines and is covered as medically necessary by Medicare and all of the major U.S. health plans. The company plans to introduce the Afirma Xpression Atlas platform soon, which will use RNA sequencing to extract extensive genomic data – including gene expression, variants and fusions – from thyroid cytology samples.