Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) told investors that its cerebrospinal fluid assay CNSide had been shown to be able to detect markers of a complication of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which could mean targeted treatment that would allow patients' lives to be extended.
More than 198,000 people are diagnosed with NSCLC each year, said Biocept, and an estimated 3-9% of those will develop leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC), where the cancer spreads to the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
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If left untreated, the average patient life expectancy is just four to six weeks.
A retrospective study at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute, used Biocept’s CNSide assay on the cerebrospinal fluid of 15 patients.
Of those, CNSide detected tumor cells in 100% of samples with LMC, while cytology (the examination of a single cell type) detected tumor cells in just 40%, noted Biocept.
"Identifying actionable mutations is critical for treating patients with LMC," said Dr Michael Dugan, Biocept’s chief medical officer and medical director.
"CNSide has demonstrated the ability to reliably detect and analyze tumor cells in the cerebrospinal fluid that may not be found in blood or tissue samples.
"The specific molecular targets identified in these tumor cells can help guide a physician's choice of newer, more effective therapies and inform the response to therapy in a way that can really help these patients see an improvement of symptoms and live significantly longer lives."
The company added that the study will be presented as a poster at the third annual conference on brain metastases hosted by the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), being held virtually on August 19 and 20, 2021.
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com