April 4 was the global launch for Elecsys Calcitonin, Roche’s new lab test for diagnosis and monitoring of medullary thyroid cancer patients after thyroid surgery. The goal is to improve medical treatment planning and other critical decision making solutions, even when the initial symptoms are unclear.
“The development of new laboratory tests for cancer management reflects our key goal of diagnostic solutions that support healthcare professionals with clear, actionable information and can thus contribute to increasing patient survival,” said Roland Diggelmann, Chief Operating Officer, Roche Diagnostics.
Designed for use on Roche’s cobas modular analyser platform, the cancer diagnostic test will be available globally, except for in the U.S.
Medullary tumors are the third most common of all thyroid cancers. They make up about 3% of all thyroid cancer cases. In MTC, flushing, diarrhea, and itching (pruritis) are all caused by elevated levels of calcitonin gene products – calcitonin or calcitonin gene-related peptide (Lee Goldman, 2011. Goldman’s Cecil Medicine 24th ed. Philadephia. Elsevier Saunders pp e76).
About Roche Diagnostics:
Roche Diagnostics is part of one of the world’s leading research-oriented healthcare organizations – the Roche Group. Active in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, Roche develops innovative products and services that address the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing well being and quality of life.
Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. Roche Diagnostics’ North American headquarters, located in Indianapolis, has about 4,200 employees and is home to U.S. research and development, laboratory, manufacturing, distribution, information technology and administrative operations. (Taken from the Roche Diagnostics website).