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NEW YORK, NY, and MADISON, NJ, June 1, 2014 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the worlds oldest and largest private cancer center, and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced a joint collaboration that will utilize MSKs clinical and research insights into gene mutations associated with solid tumors. The goal is to use molecular laboratory testing to improve physicians ability to treat patients with breast, prostate, colon, lung, and a variety of other solid tumor cancers by giving them a better understanding of the genomic underpinnings of their patients illnesses.

In recent years, research has demonstrated that certain gene mutations influence the efficacy of cancer drug therapies, and that a therapy that is effective for one type of cancer may be effective for other types that share the same gene mutations. MSK has amassed extensive databases of gene mutations linked to various types of cancer and developed pharmaceutical treatments based on scientific literature, treatment of patients by the institutions multidisciplinary teams, and clinical trials conducted by MSK researchers and scientists.

In the first phase of the collaboration, MSK will provide contextual information about individual mutations identified as part of Quests OncoVantage, an independently validated, lab-developed test that launches today to enable molecular characterization of solid tumors. Beginning this summer, physicians who order OncoVantage will benefit from the MSK data through a co-branded clinical annotation report designed to aid the assessment of a patients prognosis, as well as to guide treatment selection and to monitor disease progression.

Over time, the two organizations intend to further study and extend the mutation data sets to potentially generate improved diagnostics, in addition to research and clinical trials.

This relationship will empower clinicians to improve their patients health by identifying the best therapies for patients today and by identifying specific patients who may benefit from participation in clinical trials. The needs of tomorrows patients will be addressed by the deeper knowledge base we are building and its potential to drive the basic science needed to discover new therapies, said Craig B. Thompson, MD, MSKs President and CEO. This collaboration with Quest speaks to our mission and extends our ability to improve the quality of care for patients everywhere.

We are excited to offer oncologists and patients everywhere unprecedented access to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers exceptional knowledge of the role of gene mutations in solid tumors and the therapies most effective in treating them, said Steve H. Rusckowski, President and CEO of Quest Diagnostics. By combining our broad market reach, which covers half the practicing physicians and hospitals in the United States, with MSKs deep experience in cancer care and molecular science, we hope to illuminate the best possible cancer treatment options for patients across the country.

Extending Molecular Laboratory Testing of Solid Tumors across the United States

Quests OncoVantage test is performed on tumor biopsies and uses next-generation sequencing technology to assess the most commonly mutated exons in 34 genes. The sequencing data, in de-identified form, will be shared with MSK, which will leverage its databases to correlate specific gene mutations to potential therapies and disease progression applicable to that cancer type.

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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Quest Diagnostics Partner to Advance Precision Medicine in Cancer Diagnosis ...

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