Angle PLC Announces Study of Ovarian Cancer CTCs Using Parsortix

INDEPENDENT STUDY OF OVARIAN CANCER CTCS HARVESTED BY THE PARSORTIX SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS POTENTIAL TO PREDICT PROGRESSION FREE SURVIVAL FOR DRUG TRIALS

The study investigated 123 metastatic ovarian cancer patients over two and a half years using the Parsortix system to assess 474 longitudinal patient samples

Downstream qPCR molecular analysis of the Parsortix harvest for ESR1 and ERCC1 genes may be an early predictor of progression free survival and cancer progression respectively

GUILDFORD, SURREY / ACCESSWIRE / May 16, 2024 / ANGLE plc ("the Company") (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 delighted to announce the publication of a study using the Parsortix system to identify markers present in CTCs harvested from metastatic mutant-p53 platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) patients. The study was conducted as an offshoot of the European multi-centre GANNET53 Phase II clinical trial (NCT02012192) funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme (Grant agreement ID: 602602). The study investigated the efficacy of ganetespib in combination with paclitaxel vs. paclitaxel alone. Patients were enrolled across 12 clinical centres in Germany, Belgium, France, and Austria.

The translational study, which the research team believes is the largest study of CTCs in ovarian cancer (in terms of number of patient samples analysed), was conducted by researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. The study analysed a total of 474 blood samples collected from 123 PROC patients at baseline (i.e. prior to first administration of study drugs), and at multiple timepoints over a period of two and a half years during treatment until disease progression. A panel of 27 gene transcripts (RNA) was analysed on Parsortix-harvested CTCs using standard laboratory qPCR analysis.

The authors identified two CTC-associated markers with potential prognostic value. ERCC1, a key gene of the DNA damage response pathway, was associated with an increased risk of disease progression and worse outcomes, whereas the presence of ESR1, a gene encoding oestrogen receptor alpha (ERα), was associated with a reduced progression risk. The presence of ESR1 transcripts together with concurrent absence of ERCC1 transcripts in CTC-enriched samples at baseline and during treatment cycles was found to be predictive of improved progression free survival (PFS). Whereas the presence of ERCCI transcripts and the absence of ESR1 transcripts at baseline and during treatment cycles indicated a 12.77× greater likelihood (odds ratio) of cancer progression.