ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY), the UK liquid biopsy specialist, has unveiled new data showing its experimental HER2-CTC blood test delivers high sensitivity and specificity, bolstering its development programme for the cancer assay.
The results, to be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Chicago, confirm that the test can detect HER2-positive circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from a simple blood sample with over 98% accuracy.
Current methods for determining HER2 status rely on invasive tissue biopsies, which can quickly become outdated as cancers evolve.
In a poster session, ANGLE and its partner BioView will highlight patient case studies where the blood test picked up HER2-positive CTCs in people whose original tissue samples had tested negative, raising the possibility that these patients could benefit from HER2-targeted therapies.
"These results showcase that ANGLE's HER2-CTC assay can provide reliable and critical up-to-date information about the changing HER2 status of patients which is not available through tissue biopsy alone," the company said.
HER2, a protein linked to aggressive forms of breast and other cancers, is routinely tested to determine whether patients are likely to respond to specific drugs.
However, because its status can shift over time, reliance on an early biopsy may mean some patients miss out on treatment options.
ANGLE’s assay, which is being developed to work alongside its Parsortix system, combines immunofluorescence (IF) and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) techniques to analyse CTCs.
The company said the approach is minimally invasive, repeatable and reproducible.
ANGLE described the new data as an important step towards making real-time, dynamic HER2 monitoring a reality in clinical practice.