ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY), the liquid biopsy specialist, has flagged a potential new use of its technology at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, via a poster presentation.
The study demonstrated the potential of combining two different tests, immunofluorescent (IF) staining and HER2 fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis, with cancer cells collected from the blood using ANGLE's Parsortix system.
The research team successfully separated cancer cells from the blood of patients with advanced breast cancer using Parsortix.
They then detected a specific protein called HER2 and identified different cell types in the cancer cells. These findings suggest that combining these techniques could help doctors make better treatment decisions for breast cancer patients, as HER2 status can change over time.
The study is particularly important because new drugs are being developed to target low HER2 expression, and the results could significantly expand the market for HER2 testing.
Using these techniques could help meet an unmet medical need by allowing doctors to monitor HER2 status throughout a patient's disease progression.
In a statement, ANGLE founder and chief executive, Andrew Newland, said: "The research presented showcases the utility of the Parsortix system for collecting cancer cells from the blood and analyzing them using a combined IF and FISH approach.
"We also demonstrate successful detection of HER2 protein overexpression in cancer cells isolated from advanced breast cancer patients, showing the potential for using this technique in improving patient treatment plans.
"Given the changing dynamics of the HER2 market in response to the introduction of new drugs targeting low HER2 expression, we believe the proof of concept achieved with this study has significant commercial relevance."