Parsortix outperforms standard for DTC harvest

DTCs harvested by the Parsortix system were 'abundant and viable' facilitating biomarker assessment

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company with innovative circulating tumour cell (CTC) diagnostic solutions for use in research, drug development and clinical oncology, today announces the publication of a study of disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) in bone marrow from breast cancer patients published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Researchers at the University of Tübingen, Germany, used the Parsortix® system for the isolation and harvest of DTCs from bone marrow samples in 360 breast cancer patients (clinical stages I-IV) and compared results to the standard density centrifugation method for DTC detection. The study found that the Parsortix system was easier to use and yielded significantly higher numbers of DTCs for further analysis, compared to the standard method for DTC detection. The isolated DTCs were abundant and viable (alive and undamaged), which cannot be achieved with the standard method. This provides more and new analysis options for DTC characterisation including assessment of biomarker status which is important for targeted treatment selection and prognostic assessment.

DTCs are circulating tumour cells (CTCs) that have left the primary tumour and travelled in the blood to a distant organ, in this instance bone marrow, where they can remain dormant before being released at a later date. Release of these cells into the blood, is thought to be the most likely cause of relapse for patients who have had a prolonged remission.

One-third of breast cancer patients have DTCs already present in the bone marrow at the time of diagnosis; these patients, as well as patients with persistent DTCs, have significantly worse clinical outcomes than DTC-negative patients. Since DTC biomarker status may differ from the primary tumour with regard to key proliferation and growth receptors such as ER and HER2, the ability to evaluate these markers on DTCs may enable clinicians to optimise targeted therapy and reduce the risk of relapse.

ANGLE Chief Scientific Officer, Karen Miller, commented:

"We are pleased to share the peer-reviewed publication by the University of Tübingen that demonstrates consistently high performance of the Parsortix system for the harvest of DTCs as opposed to CTCs. This is the second study centre to demonstrate successful enrichment and harvest of DTCs from bone marrow aspirate highlighting a range of additional potential uses of the Parsortix system in clinical practice."

The research has been published as a peer-reviewed publication in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and is available online at https://angleplc.com/publications/.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.