ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) has announced new findings showing that analysing whole tumour cells in the blood, rather than just DNA fragments, could provide a more complete picture of cancer.
The research, conducted using technology from sequencing giant Illumina, found that in lung cancer patients, important genetic changes were sometimes only detectable in intact tumour cells and not in DNA fragments floating in the blood.
The study involved blood samples from 27 lung cancer patients. Scientists extracted tumour DNA from both free-floating DNA (circulating tumour DNA, or ctDNA) and whole tumour cells (circulating tumour cells, or CTCs) using ANGLE’s Parsortix system. They then analysed these samples using Illumina’s powerful sequencing technology.
Among untreated patients, all eight had cancer-related mutations found only in whole tumour cells and not in free-floating DNA.
Even among those already receiving treatment, 90% had genetic changes detectable only in whole tumour cells. This suggests that testing both sources could double the number of detectable mutations, potentially helping to guide treatment.
Recognising the significance of these findings, Illumina has dedicated an entire webinar to ANGLE’s research, set to take place on February 6.
The two companies plan to collaborate further, aiming to refine liquid biopsy techniques for more effective cancer monitoring.
"We are excited at the prospect of combining ANGLE's Parsortix system with Illumina's NGS assays and optimising a workflow that will enable Illumina customers to offer CTC analysis in the future," said Karen Miller, ANGLE's chief scientific officer.
"Furthermore, as our research has previously shown, simultaneous analysis of CTCs and ctDNA from the same tube of blood significantly expands the potential for liquid biopsy research and clinical drug discovery and development.
Information provided by these analytes is complementary and has the potential to provide a more comprehensive profile of a patient's cancer when compared to information derived from either CTCs or ctDNA alone."