Angle PLC Announces Parsortix at European Breast Cancer Conference - Seite 2

2. Interrogating HER2 status in Circulating Tumour Cells isolated using the Parsortix system from Metastatic Breast Cancer patients

The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is currently guided by the evaluation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in tissue biopsies. However, a tissue biopsy is invasive, is at a single point in time and, with little opportunity for repeat testing, can become out of date. The longitudinal monitoring of HER2 expression from blood is possible through minimally invasive CTC-based liquid biopsy techniques. ANGLE has developed an IF assay for HER2 protein identification on CTCs isolated and harvested using the Parsortix system from the peripheral blood of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients.

Results from an in-house study in 26 patients found that CTCs overexpressing HER2 were present at similar levels in patients that had HER2+ or HER2- tumours by primary tissue biopsy. HER2 status of CTCs was also dynamic, changing over time in 37% of CTC positive donors which is unsurprising given that temporal changes in HER2 tissue status are also well documented in the literature. One third-party study of 575 breast cancer patients similarly found that 38% had changed HER2 status from the original primary tissue biopsy to the metastatic tissue biopsy, at disease recurrence. These initial results using Parsortix-based harvest of CTCs demonstrate how the HER2 status between primary tumours and CTCs can diverge, and that analysis of HER2 expression on CTCs has the potential to help guide clinical decision making in MBC patients, allowing for regular monitoring and tracking of treatment and/or disease progression.

ANGLE Chief Scientific Officer, Karen Miller, commented:

"We are delighted to have had two posters presented at the EBCC conference. The results of these studies further demonstrate the potential utility of ANGLE's sample-to-answer Parsortix system and Portrait imaging assays for reliable and repeatable assessment of biomarkers in a range of solid tumours, including breast. We look forward to discussions with translational researchers and industry representatives at this conference to explore opportunities for sales, collaboration, and partnerships."