ANGLE PLC’s (LON:AGL) liquid biopsy system has been deployed in ground-breaking research assessing the role of the body’s own immune suppressor cells in promoting the cancer spread – a process called metastasis.
The company’s Parsortix device proved efficient at harvesting circulating tumour cell clusters and was superior to the competing method of collection on two levels: the size of the cluster and Parsortix’s ability to successfully extract these large clusters 100% of the time.
Researchers looked at metastatic breast and melanoma cancers to assess the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which are part of clusters identified by the ANGLE device.
Clusters vs singles
It emerged that large circulating tumour cell clusters were fifty-times more likely to generate metastasis than single circulating tumour cells.
The work was carried out by a team led by Professor Dario Marchetti at the Biomarker Research Program at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in tandem with members of the Center for Precision Health at the University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The results were published in a peer-reviewed publication called the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
The study is just the latest example of Parsortix being an integral part of research into the mechanics behind cancer and the elements driving its spreads.
Experts believe ultimately the technology could allow doctors to take an almost personalised approach to the treatment of the disease.
ANGLE’s chief executive, Dr Andrew Newland, said: “Our ultimate aim is for the Parsortix system to be routinely used for all cancer patients in the future."
In afternoon trading, shares in ANGLE were 4.4% higher at 71.50p.
In a note to clients, analysts at 'house' broker finnCap reiterated a 110p target price on ANGLE and commented; "Not only does this further differentiate Parsortix from other CTC capture systems, but it also complements the current FDA breast cancer study, given that CTC clusters were taken from breast and melanoma cancer patients and should enhance CTC cluster research-led revenues of Parsortix.