HUNTINGTON BEACH, California and AMSTERDAM, December 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, today announced that leading Agendia and the Netherlands Cancer Institute researchers will present data from multiple studies at the 2008 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and Agendia will support, with an unrestricted grant, the New Frontiers in Individualized Breast Cancer Therapy symposium. The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, one of the premiere conferences in breast cancer research worldwide, takes place December 10th-14th, 2008.

The New Frontiers in Individualized Breast Cancer Therapy symposium, an important continuing medical education event at the SABCS, will take place on Saturday, December 13, from 7:30-10 pm, at the Grand Hyatt, San Antonio. Additionally, a mini-symposium and a series of poster presentations will highlight results from studies analyzing Agendia's MammaPrint(R), a FDA-cleared test that identifies the risk of breast cancer recurrence and provides doctors with the rationale to assess the benefits of chemotherapy.

Full study results will be discussed at a mini-symposium and the following embargoed poster sessions and discussions:

Thursday, 12/11/08, 5:30pm - 7:30pm #1063, Poster Session 1: Prognostic Factors and Biomarkers - Clinical Testing and Validation, The 70-gene prognosis profile predicts early metastases in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. Presenter: Stella Mook, MD, Netherlands Cancer Institute. Thursday, 12/11/08, 5:30pm - 7:30pm CST #1084, Poster Session 1: Prognostic Factors and Biomarkers - Clinical Testing and Validation, Benefit of the 70-gene profile for widely used guidelines: an answer to increased selection for adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Presenter: Michael Knauer, M.D., Netherlands Cancer Institute. Friday, 12/12/08, 2pm - 3:30pm CST Mini-symposium 2, Molecular Profiling for Guiding Therapeutic Decisions: RNA. Presenter: Laura Van 't Veer, PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute. Friday, 12/12/08, 5pm - 7pm CST #305 Poster Discussion 3: Circulating Tumor Cells and Marrow Micrometastases, A multi-marker QPCR panel for the detection of circulating tumor cells predicts survival in breast cancer patients. Presenter: Laura Van 't Veer, PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute. Friday, 12/12/08, 5pm - 7pm CST #3007, Poster Session 3: Detection/Diagnosis - Diagnostic Pathology, Microarray-based determination of ER, PR and HER2 receptor status: validation and comparison with IHC assessments. Presenter: Paul Roepman, PhD, Agendia. Saturday, 12/13/08, 7am - 9am CST #4171, Poster Session 4: Late Acceptances, Identification of a low risk subgroup in Her2-positive breast cancer by the 70-gene prognosis signature. Presenter: Michaël Knauër, MD, Netherlands Cancer Institute Sunday, 12/14/08, 7am - 9am #6034, Poster Session 6: Prognosis and Response Predictions - Biomarkers and Other Factors, Biology of Breast Cancers that Are Screen Detected vs. Locally Advanced or Young Age Should Inform How We Approach Early Detection and Prevention. Presenter: Laura Esserman, MD, UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center.

New Frontiers in Individualized Breast Cancer Therapy

The New Frontiers in Individualized Breast Cancer Therapy symposium updates physicians on the latest information regarding the development of molecular diagnostic assays for breast cancer and how to integrate this information into their everyday practices. The technology behind multigene expression profiling assays will be discussed, including immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and DNA microarray-based assays. The use of microarray technology in breast cancer sub-typing will also be covered as well as key clinical data from prospective validation studies establishing these assays as prognostic and/or predictive in patients with node-negative early-stage breast cancer. Comparisons of molecular profiling assays to traditional clinicopathologic criteria and online algorithms will be reviewed, and the utility of these assays in patients with node-positive disease and ongoing clinical trials of multigene assays in breast cancer will be discussed. For more information please go to NewFrontiers.CancerLearning.com.

The faculty will consist of:

William F. Symmans, MD, Assistant Professor of Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Kelly K. Hunt, MD, F.A.C.S, Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, Chief Surgical Breast Section, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Chair Breast Committee, American College of Surgeons Oncology Group

Rowan T. Chlebowski, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Chief of Medical Oncology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA.

Emiel J Rutgers, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

About MammaPrint(R)

MammaPrint is the first 'in vitro diagnostic multivariate index assay' (IVDMIA) cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA clearance requires clinical and analytical validation and reporting systems to ensure patient safety issues are addressed. Highly accurate, MammaPrint identifies patients with early metastasis - those patients who are likely to develop metastases within five years following surgery. Several authoritative studies have shown that chemotherapy particularly reduces early metastasis risk. In planning treatment, the MammaPrint test result provides a doctor with a clear rationale to assess the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in addition to other clinical information and pathology tests.

All MammaPrint tests are conducted in Agendia's CLIA-certified service laboratory. All other breast cancer recurrence assays currently marketed have not been subject to the rigorous FDA clearance process.

About Agendia

Agendia is at the forefront of the personalized medicine revolution, striving to bring more effective, individualized treatments within reach of patients. Building on a cutting edge genomics platform for tumor gene expression profiling, the company's tests aim to help physicians more accurately tailor cancer treatments. The company markets four products with several new genomic tests under development. In addition, Agendia collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to develop highly effective personalized drugs in the area of oncology. Agendia is based in Huntington Beach, California, and in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information please visit http://www.agendia.com.

Media contacts: Hans Herklots, Agendia, +31-20-462-1557 Office, +31-620-083-509 Mobile, hans.herklots@agendia.com; Valerie Delva, Ricochet Public Relations, +1-212-679-3300 x131 Office, +1-917-975-3191 Mobile, vdelva@ricochetpr.com