OMAHA, Neb. (June 16, 2016)—UNeMed announced today a recently struck licensing deal with a diagnostics and medical device company in Memphis, Tenn., HealthChart LLC, to further develop a new test that could significantly improve treatment strategies for certain types of rare blood cancers—peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
The most common form of peripheral T-cell lymphoma—referred to as “not otherwise specified,” or PTCL-NOS for short—is notoriously difficult to treat because it can’t be classified into any known category. Different types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma have different treatment strategies, but a type that essentially fits under “none of the above” requires some guesswork from physicians.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center developed a new method to classify “not otherwise specified” forms of peripheral T-cell lymphomas. The breakthrough method measures the genetic profiles of the peripheral T-cell lymphoma cells, and enables researchers to classify previously unknown lymphoma types.
The method will also aid in accurate diagnosis and prognosis of other peripheral T-cell lymphoma subtypes, including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, anaplastic T-cell lymphoma and gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma.
HealthChart will work with and support UNMC researchers to help refine the method into a more robust test that could serve a critical role as a companion diagnostic as new treatment strategies enter clinical trials.
