Independent Parsortix study

CTC mutation profiles associated with more aggressive disease

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company with innovative circulating tumour cell (CTC) solutions for use in research, drug development and clinical oncology, is pleased to announce the results of an independent study in melanoma patients comparing gene mutations in tumour tissue, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) and CTCs.

The study, from Dr Laura Keller's team at the Department of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, used the Parsortix® system to isolate CTCs from melanoma patient blood samples. The CTCs were analysed alongside tumour tissue and ctDNA samples using PCR (for gene amplification) followed by mass spectrometry.

The study found a significantly wider range of potentially clinically relevant DNA mutations in the CTCs (intact cancer cells harvested by the Parsortix system) compared to the ctDNA samples (DNA fragments released from dead and dying tumour cells). Mutations were identified in CTCs but not in matched ctDNA samples which are clinically relevant when detected in tumour tissue, with US Food and Drug Administration approved targeted drugs available.

Analysis of two specific mutations which are commonly screened for in a clinical setting for melanoma (BRAF and NRAS) identified notable differences in the CTC samples compared to the tissue samples. The mutations identified in CTCs but not in matched tissue samples were associated with a more aggressive phenotype of the disease and may reflect clonal evolution of the cancer during the time elapsed between tissue biopsy and CTC blood sample (median elapsed time 6 months; range 0 to 41 months).

The authors state that the genomic analysis of CTCs has the potential to provide additional and complementary information on clinically relevant mutations compared to those found in tumour tissue and/or ctDNA. The authors conclude that the integration of a multi-analyte approach has the potential to further the evolution of personalised medicine in the field of cancer care.

ANGLE Chief Scientific Officer, Karen Miller commented:

"We are pleased to share this peer-reviewed publication by the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. The paper demonstrates the potential utility of CTCs enriched using the Parsortix system to provide genomic information additional to that provided by tumour tissue or ctDNA analysis. It highlights how mutational analysis of CTCs, isolated using the Parsortix system, from patients with melanoma could, in the future, enable clinicians to make more informed decisions regarding their patient's treatment and care pathway."

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