DCCNet demonstrates use of Parsortix system for single cell CTC analysis

ANGLE plcJul 23 2019

ANGLE plc, a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is pleased to announce that one of its leading customers, the Disseminated Cancer Cell Network (DCCNet), Duesseldorf, an interdisciplinary team of cancer researchers and clinicians, has published new results in a peer-reviewed journal of work done to develop a “robust, reliable and cost-efficient workflow” for enrichment of single circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

This has been published by the DCCNet at the University Hospital and Medical Faculty of the Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf as a peer-reviewed publication in the journal Cancers and is available at https://angleplc.com/library/publications/.

The researchers combined use of the Parsortix^® system with the micromanipulator CellCelector^™ to enable single CTCs to be analyzed individually to investigate the heterogeneity of the cancer. They were able to complete PCR-based gene expression analysis of single CTCs processed by Parsortix direct from the patient sample as well as from cells obtained from Parsortix and subsequently cultured outside the patient. This approach may facilitate complex therapeutic decision-making based on the CTC analysis.

The work was undertaken in breast cancer and was able to detect varying gene expression between the individual CTCs as well as demonstrating that changes in the patient’s HER-2 expression can be detected.

Dr Hans Neubauer, University Hospital and Medical Faculty of the Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf commented:

The ability to analyze single CTCs provides a wider understanding of the patient’s cancer and may shed greater insight into drug resistance enabling improved therapeutic selection and response. The Parsortix system addresses key issues by removing large numbers of white blood cells whilst retaining the viability of the CTCs for subsequent culture.”

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented:

This new workflow provides a simple and effective approach to single cell CTC analysis, which is a developing area of research use for the Parsortix system. Investigation of gene expression and HER-2 status in breast cancer will be an important application of Parsortix following FDA clearance.”