NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Nanostring Technologies today announced that its Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay has been acknowledged within the treatment guidelines of the German Association of Gynecological Oncology (AGO).
The company also said that a recent decision by the German Joint Federal Committee (G-BA) has qualified German breast cancer patients with statutory government insurance as eligible for coverage for gene expression testing, such as that provided by Prosigna, to inform therapy decisions beginning April 1.
"The inclusion of Prosigna in the German AGO breast cancer treatment guidelines marks an important milestone for NanoString," President and CEO Brad Gray said in a statement. "In combination with upcoming insurance coverage of genomic testing by the government, the stage is set for substantially increased patient access to Prosigna in Germany."
Under the AGO guidelines, the Prosigna assay is now indicated for newly diagnosed patients with node-negative or node-positive, hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, for whom clinical-pathological factors alone do not allow physicians to make a clear therapeutic decision, according to Nanostring.
The G-BA decision, the company added, covers patients at least 35 years of age with low-grade, hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer who are being treated at eligible hospitals.