Angle PLC Announces Parsortix Enables Gene Expression Analysis in mPCa

PARSORTIX SYSTEM ENABLES GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS IN METASTATIC PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS

Parsortix able to isolate CTCs in 80% of patients providing access to tumour material for gene expression analysis when tissue biopsy not feasible

Longitudinal patient monitoring using Parsortix showed reduction in CTCs with patient drug response providing further evidence to support the use of Parsortix in pharma services business

GUILDFORD, SURREY / ACCESSWIRE / September 20, 2021 / ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL)(OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is pleased to announce that the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria has published results from a study in metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) patients. A key aim of this study was to demonstrate the ability to analyse gene expression in circulating tumour cells (CTCs), which may help guide treatment decision-making for a diverse range of mPCa patients with differing tumour burdens and various prior therapies.

Despite the study not investigating mesenchymal CTCs (those that have been through EMT, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition known to occur during disease progression), and the capture of which is a particular strength of the Parsortix system, epithelial CTCs were recovered using the Parsortix system which could then be analysed for gene expression in 80% of patients.

Longitudinal monitoring of one patient was undertaken using the Parsortix system, with five blood draws over a six-month period, and it was notable that the presence of CTCs declined from around 30 CTCs in a 7.5ml blood sample to zero when that patient responded positively to therapy. This finding further supports the potential for use of the Parsortix system to monitor drug response in cancer drug trials which are assessing patients before, during and after therapy and the researchers believe that further studies to monitor drug response in a larger cohort of patients are warranted. Longitudinal analysis cannot be routinely undertaken using tissue biopsy during clinical trials as repeat samples are generally not available and is the basis of ANGLE's pharma services business established earlier this year.

It is estimated that 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. There are an estimated 3.2 million men living with prostate cancer in the United States alone, with 250,000 new cases anticipated in 2021.

Since tumour tissue material is generally unavailable in metastatic prostate cancer, CTCs provide non-invasive and repeatable access to tumour cells and, in accordance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, allow for biomarker testing at all stages of prostate cancer to inform targeted treatment. This study and others, highlight the utility of CTCs in analysing molecular changes in tumour cells in prostate cancer to inform personalised therapy decisions.