Angle PLC announces Study using Parsortix in head and neck cancer

ANGLE plc STUDY USING PARSORTIX DEMONSTRATES IMPORTANCE OF BIOMARKER-INDEPENDENT CTC ISOLATION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER

EMT status of CTCs found to provide additional insight to tumour tissue biopsy

Potential role of CTC EMT biomarkers as therapeutic targets

GUILDFORD, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 28, 2022 / ANGLE plc ("the Company") (AIM:AGL)(OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is pleased to announce that the University of Birmingham has published the results of a study undertaken in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) which characterised the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) status of circulating tumour cells (CTCs). EMT is clinically significant due to its role in tumour progression and invasion, the development of metastasis, metabolic reprogramming, immune evasion, and resistance of cancer cells to therapy.

The study used the Parsortix^® system to harvest CTCs from peripheral blood samples from 20 treatment-naïve HNSCC patients at baseline prior to surgery. The researchers performed flow-cytometry EMT characterisation of CTCs as compared to EMT gene expression in tumour tissue and investigated expression correlation with respect to clinical outcomes. The expression of EpCAM and N-cadherin were utilised to characterise CTC status as epithelial or EMT. CTCs were detected in 65% of patients and 77% of positive samples included CTCs undergoing EMT.

The research demonstrated that EMT status of CTCs was almost exclusively associated with advanced stage (III-IV) disease. In this small patient cohort CTC enumeration alone was not reported to be prognostic with respect to overall survival and progression free survival. However, CTC EMT status was found to be independent to that of tumour tissue, highlighting the potential clinical utility of CTC EMT biomarkers as a complementary analyte to tumour tissue biopsy or as therapeutic targets.

Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is a broad term used to group oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, salivary gland and nose and sinus cancer, with 90-95% of HNCs being squamous cell cancers. Globally, HNC accounted for over 930,000 new cases and over 460,000 deaths in 2020. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, 5-year survival rates are in the region of 50%, depending on cancer type and stage, but largely static for several decades. Common risk factors of this cancer include gender, ethnicity, age, poor oral hygiene, tobacco and alcohol use. The toxicity associated with current treatment regimens for this cancer results in a significant impact upon quality of life. Therefore, early diagnosis and effective targeted treatment options are urgently required to improve patient outcomes. A liquid biopsy, in particular analysing CTCs, is one potential avenue to define such therapeutic biomarkers.