OREANDA-NEWS. July 21, 2015. Feedback plc (AIM: FDBK), the medical imaging software company, is pleased to announce the successful completion of a large evaluation of TexRAD CT texture analysis (CTTA) as a pre-therapy imaging biomarker in 241 metastatic renal (kidney) cell cancer (m-RCC) patients treated with anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT - drugs that block cancer blood-vessel growth). This research study was led by Dr. Andrew Smith (Associate Professor in Radiology and Director of Radiology Research) along with colleagues from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA (UMMC).

Specifically the results from this large study demonstrate that TexRAD texture analysis on conventional CT imaging acquired before m-RCC patients underwent AAT was a very strong predictor of overall survival at 2 years. Dr. Smith and colleagues further demonstrated that in a multivariate model comprising of known clinical biomarkers in this cancer population, TexRAD CTTA additionally demonstrated to be a strongly independent predictor of overall survival. The authors have developed a "new prognostic risk index" comprising of TexRAD CTTA and other known clinical factors which has  demonstrated superior accuracy in predicting patient survival and classified patients into low, medium and high-risk groups with strong statistical significance (p<0.0001). Dr. Smith and colleagues also concluded that pre-therapy TexRAD CTTA is a significant prognostic marker in patients with m-RCC treated with AAT.  

Dr Andrew Smith commented:  

"Increasing the accuracy of pre-therapy prognostic risk models with new imaging biomarkers such as TexRAD CTTA can be used as a way of improving clinical trial and pre-treatment planning for patients with m-RCC treated with AAT" 

Dr. Balaji Ganeshan, Chief Scientist & New Business Officer of the Company's subsidiaries TexRAD Ltd & Cambridge Computed Imaging Ltd commented:

"We are delighted with the positive results from the large study undertaken by our eminent collaborator/customer at UMMC, Dr Andrew Smith and the team at Mississippi, USA. This is a very important study demonstrating the specific application of TexRAD CT texture analysis as a non-invasive imaging biomarker in the management of m-RCC patients treated with AAT. AAT is expensive and increases toxicity and potential side-effects, so being able to select  those patients who are likely to respond well and stand to have an overall survival benefit, before treatment has started, will allow for better and more cost-effective patient management. This type of precision medicine results in improved patient outcomes and overall efficacy."

Dr Smith and colleagues submitted an abstract, which has now been accepted, and Dr. Smith will further present the work as an oral presentation at the annual meeting of the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance in Toronto, Canada between October 7-11 2015 (http://www.scbtmr.org).