The CACTIS Foundation's Game-Changing Informatics Initiative Sponsored By Varian Medical Systems

PHOENIX, AZ – (November 26, 2011) The CACTIS Foundation today announced that a grant from the Varian Medical Systems Foundation will make it possible for CACTIS to improve the health and wellbeing of patients, especially underserved communities, in the greater Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona area.

The grant will allow CACTIS to provide input and pilot robust and user-friendly enhancements and integrations utilizing Varian's ARIA® electronic health record system. It will also facilitate, and the collection of uniform patient information for subsequent mining of the anonymized data for analyzing the comparative effectiveness of standard therapies, as well as early and later stage clinical trials.

"This program addresses a major unmet need in the practice of oncology, that of increasing efficiency and accountability," said Michael Gordon, M.D., President and CEO of Pinnacle Oncology Hematology in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"These data are critically needed to improve cancer patient management and to create and comply with 'Best Practices' standards of care. CACTIS is committed to increasing the awareness and availability of personal medicine through Imagenomics ("molecular fingerprinting"), data collection and their effects on clinical outcomes in diverse ethnic groups," said Dr. Michael Gordon, M.D., President and CEO of Pinnacle
Oncology Hematology in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"These data are critically needed to improve cancer patient management and to create and comply with 'Best Practices' standards of care. CACTIS is committed to increasing the awareness and availability of personal medicine through Imagenomics ("molecular fingerprinting"), data collection and their effects on clinical outcomes in diverse ethnic groups," said Dr. Hirsch Handmaker, CACTIS chairman and CEO. "The speed and convenience of interspecialty consultations and communications, availability of lab reports and immediate image availability will facilitate many obvious and needed positive benefits in the practice of oncology."

"Varian is pleased to promote and nurture the collaborative interface between a substantial community network of area physicians and providers who care for over 4.5 million people, including an estimated 500,000 underserved persons in Arizona," said Chris Toth, Varian Medical Systems Senior Director, Oncology Marketing. "The development and implementation of enhanced software based on the input of the CACTIS community in this large and diverse population will allow for that."