CelLBxHealth PLC (AIM:CLBX) has highlighted an independent peer-reviewed study that demonstrated the potential of its Parsortix® circulating tumour cell technology to support the diagnosis and monitoring of glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of primary brain cancer.
The study, published in JCO Precision Oncology, found that Parsortix-enriched circulating tumour cells, or CTCs, from glioblastoma patients reflected genetic features found in matched tumour tissue, supporting their potential use as a minimally invasive source of molecular information.
Researchers also proposed a numerical CTC threshold for glioblastoma, with more than 4 CTCs per 5 millilitres of blood helping distinguish patients with primary glioblastoma from healthy controls with 80% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity.
Independent study supports Parsortix use
Researchers at Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza and Ospedali Riuniti di Livorno USL Toscana Nord Ovest in Italy used the Parsortix Platform to enrich CTCs from blood samples taken from 27 patients with glioblastoma, alongside healthy controls and patients with non-glioblastoma brain lesions.
Analysis showed that the enriched CTCs contained tumour-related mutations and chromosomal changes also present in matched tumour tissue, indicating that the captured cells reflected the biology of the underlying cancer.
Single-cell analysis also highlighted the genetic variability of glioblastoma CTCs, consistent with the known complexity of the disease.
Samples from patients with radionecrosis and lymphoma produced no detectable CTCs, suggesting that CTC enumeration could potentially help distinguish tumour recurrence from treatment-related changes.
Potential role in difficult-to-monitor cancer
Glioblastoma is particularly difficult to monitor because repeat tissue biopsy generally requires invasive neurosurgery, while imaging can be difficult to interpret when assessing suspected recurrence.
CelLBxHealth findings add to evidence that tumour-derived cells can be detected in the bloodstream even though glioblastoma rarely spreads outside the brain.
This could provide a route to obtaining molecular information through a blood-based liquid biopsy without the need for repeated tissue sampling.
Findings align with CelLBxHealth research
The independent study also aligns with CelLBxHealth’s own glioblastoma research, which the company presented at the Society for Neuro-Oncology annual meeting.
Its internal work similarly indicated that Parsortix-enriched CTCs could provide tumour-related genomic information in glioblastoma patients.
Chief scientific officer Lavanya Sivapalan said the study provided independent evidence supporting the potential of Parsortix-enriched CTCs as a complementary liquid biopsy approach in a cancer where conventional monitoring remains challenging.
Next steps
The proposed CTC threshold and the genomic similarities identified between circulating tumour cells and matched tumour tissue provide a basis for further investigation of Parsortix in glioblastoma diagnosis and monitoring.
CelLBxHealth's findings support continued evaluation of CTC-based liquid biopsy approaches in the disease, particularly where repeat tissue sampling is difficult or imaging results are inconclusive.
