Latest news with #liquidBiopsy
Medscape
08-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
A DNA Test for Every Newborn: Smart or Premature?
During these sweltering early summer days, I've come across several news stories about the use of genetic testing — each deserving a very different level of scrutiny. Three examples come from the United Kingdom, where Health Secretary Wes Streeting is grappling with an NHS in worse shape than healthcare systems in other European countries. In response, he appears committed to investing in genetics as a cornerstone of future predictive and preventive medicine. It's a bold strategy, though not without merit. For example, offering all patients with lung or breast cancer a liquid biopsy— capable of detecting fragments of circulating tumour DNA in the blood — could have clear clinical advantages. This approach would enable physicians to recommend, as early as possible, a personalized therapy tailored to the tumour's molecular profile, with the potential to extend both survival and quality of life. If the UK government does implement such a plan, the benefits could be significant. In fact, there's a strong likelihood that the NHS would recoup the investment over time. A Case Study: The Yellow Card Biobank Equally notable is the new initiative by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA): the Yellow Card Biobank, launched to investigate adverse drug reactions. The first focus area is the risk for acute pancreatitis in patients taking semaglutide or other GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity or type 2 diabetes. To explore whether genetic factors may contribute to this serious complication, doctors have been asked to report relevant cases involving their patients. Those patients will then be invited to provide a saliva or sputum sample for DNA testing. The project aims not only to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying adverse reactions such as pancreatitis but also to prevent future recurrences in genetically predisposed individuals. This pharmacogenomics effort isn't limited to these medications. It will gradually expand to help reduce adverse events from other drugs as well. In the UK, it's estimated that at least 1 in 6 hospital admissions is due to iatrogenic harm, costing the NHS (in England) roughly £2.2 billion annually for hospital stays alone. According to Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the MHRA, up to one third of all adverse drug reactions could potentially be predicted with genetic testing. Genome Testing for All Newborns Too Much More controversial is the proposal to sequence the entire genome of every newborn in England over the next decade. The goal is to detect not only gene mutations linked to conditions treatable through early diagnosis — similar to existing newborn screening programs — but also many others where knowing the genetic information has no impact on the clinical outcome. This type of sequencing will inevitably identify carrier states and, more problematically, genetic markers associated only with increased statistical risk for such conditions as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other currently untreatable illnesses. This raises serious ethical questions. How will sufficient numbers of genetic counsellors be trained and funded to support parents in understanding these results? And once these children come of age, could they challenge the government for conducting genomic testing without their consent? The plan aims to build a research database of 500,000 genomes — an undoubtedly valuable resource. But the methods used to collect these data, and the decision to prioritize this initiative over other pressing NHS challenges, are open to debate. Crucially, this approach risks reinforcing a false equivalence between prediction and prevention. While the two can sometimes align to deliver significant public health benefits, they are not universally interchangeable.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Angle PLC - EACR 2025: Innovation in AR Expression Profiling
ANGLE presents new data at EACR 2025 Highlighting Innovation in Androgen Receptor EXPRESSION profiling Poster presentation highlights development of a novel CTC-based assay GUILDFORD, SURREY / / June 17, 2025 / 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 presentation of a poster at the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) Congress, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal from 16-19 June 2025. The poster entitled 'Combined microfluidic isolation and immunofluorescence staining of circulating tumour cells for the assessment of Androgen Receptor expression in metastatic prostate cancer blood samples', is being presented during the Biomarkers in Tissue and Blood session on Tuesday 17 June 2025. This assay addresses a significant unmet need in prostate cancer. The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in driving disease growth and progression, and changes in AR can lead to resistance to current treatments and the development of advanced incurable disease known as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). With at least 130 ongoing clinical studies and a projected AR inhibitor market value of US $9.8 billion by 2032, there is growing demand for assays that can monitor AR activity1. ANGLE has developed a new approach for repeatable assessment of AR expression in prostate cancer patients using the Parsortix system and ANGLE's AR immunofluorescence assay. The assay was tested on blood spiked with prostate cancer cells exposed to increasing AR drug concentrations. The results showed a clear, statistically significant reduction in AR expression as AR-drug concentration increased, from over 80% AR-positive cells in untreated samples to under 20% at the highest drug level. This demonstrates the assay's high sensitivity and highlights its potential utility for pharmacodynamic assessment, enabling customers to monitor treatment response in real-time. The assay was then validated in blood samples from 20 patients with mCRPC. 50% of patients were CTC-positive and all CTC-positive patients had AR-positive CTCs enabling the assessment of AR expression levels. CTC clusters, which are known to be up to 100 times more metastatic, were observed in 80% of CTC-positive patients. All CTCs detected were mesenchymal or undergoing EMT, highlighting the importance of using the marker-independent Parsortix system in this patient cohort. This work demonstrates how ANGLE's Portrait AR workflow enables sensitive, real-time monitoring of AR expression from a simple blood draw. The assay is now available as part of ANGLE's assay menu to support pharma customers with longitudinal biomarker assessment in AR-targeted clinical trials. The poster will be available on ANGLE's website from 20:00 on Tuesday 17 June: ANGLE Chief Scientific Officer, Karen Miller, commented:"This work underscores the value of ANGLE's Parsortix system for enabling detailed protein analysis directly in intact CTCs. The androgen receptor assay development programme has successfully been completed, and we are excited by its potential to repeatably monitor drug response and resistance in prostate cancer trials. Sharing this data at EACR reflects our ongoing commitment to advancing precision oncology with innovative, real-world solutions." 1. For further information: ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director Berenberg (NOMAD and Broker) Toby Flaux, Ciaran Walsh, Milo Bonser +44 (0) 20 3207 7800 FTI Consulting Simon Conway, Ciara Martin Matthew Ventimiglia (US) +44 (0) 203 727 1000 +1 (212) 850 5624 For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on Notes for editors About ANGLE plc ANGLE is a world-leading liquid biopsy company with innovative circulating tumour cell (CTC) solutions for use in research, drug development and clinical oncology using a simple blood sample. ANGLE's FDA cleared and patent protected CTC harvesting technology known as the Parsortix® PC1 System enables complete downstream analysis of the sample including whole cell imaging and proteomic analysis and full genomic and transcriptomic molecular analysis. ANGLE's commercial businesses are focusing on clinical services and diagnostic products. The clinical services business is offered through ANGLE's GCLP-compliant laboratories. Services include custom made assay development and clinical trial testing for pharma. Products include the Parsortix system, associated consumables and assays. Over 100 peer-reviewed publications have demonstrated the performance of the Parsortix system. For more information, visit Any reference to regulatory authorisations such as FDA clearance, CE marking or UK MHRA registration shall be read in conjunction with the full intended use of the product: The Parsortix® PC1 system is an in vitro diagnostic device intended to enrich circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from peripheral blood collected in K2EDTA tubes from patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. The system employs a microfluidic chamber (a Parsortix cell separation cassette) to capture cells of a certain size and deformability from the population of cells present in blood. The cells retained in the cassette are harvested by the Parsortix PC1 system for use in subsequent downstream assays. The end user is responsible for the validation of any downstream assay. The standalone device, as indicated, does not identify, enumerate or characterize CTCs and cannot be used to make any diagnostic/prognostic claims for CTCs, including monitoring indications or as an aid in any disease management and/or treatment decisions. This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@ or visit SOURCE: ANGLE plc View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Sign in to access your portfolio
