RNS- Yet another , head and neck Cancer17 Apr 2020 08:11
Angle PLC Parsortix performance in head and neck cancer
Source: UK Regulatory (RNS & others)
TIDMAGL
RNS Number : 9483J
Angle PLC
17 April 2020
For immediate release 17 April 2020
ANGLE plc ("the Company")
PARSORTIX PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATED IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER
Molecular analysis demonstrates measurement of key cancer genes and methylation status from a simple blood test
Direct comparison highlights key advantages of Parsortix compared to antibody-based approach
ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is delighted to announce that the University of Athens has published results of new work undertaken in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) demonstrating the use of ANGLE's Parsortix(R) system in the analysis of gene expression and epigenetic alterations (DNA methylation markers) on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from a simple blood test.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world accounting for more than 550,000 occurrences and 300,000 deaths each year, and the 5-year overall survival rate is extremely low at 40% to 50%(1) . HNSCC is a devastating disease and novel treatments are urgently needed. The researchers believe that "molecular characterization of CTCs can be a powerful prognostic tool while serial assessments of CTCs at different time points during treatment may guide treatment decisions".
To assess the potential for molecular characterisation of CTCs enriched by Parsortix, the researchers undertook a direct comparison of Parsortix using identical blood draws with an antibody-based approach to CTC capture for 50 HNSCC patients and 18 healthy volunteers. The results demonstrated that the Parsortix system had key advantages including:
-- much higher CTC harvesting positivity rates;
-- higher purity samples with lower levels of non-specific contaminant cells;
-- excellent RNA quality for molecular analysis;
-- higher relative expression levels for key cancer genes, including PDL1, which is a key target for immunotherapy drugs especially in this type of cancer;
-- significantly higher proportion of samples testing positive for epigenetic alterations in CTCs (DNA methylation markers), which is a key area for cancer investigation.
The research has been published as a peer-reviewed publication in the Nature Scientific Reports and may be accessed via https://angleplc.com/library/publications/ .
Prof Evi Lianidou, Head of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory focused on Liquid Biopsy (ACTC lab) at the Department of Chemistry, University of Athens, commented:
"The publication of this work with ANGLE's Parsortix system highlights the advantages of the Parsortix system in head and neck cancer and demonstrates the potential for cancer gene expression and methylation status to be analysed from a simple blood test. We are planning larger studies using Parsortix to demonstrate patient benefit from CTC base
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