Data for the detection and monitoring of key predictive biomarkers
for patients with newly diagnosed or progressing metastatic lung cancer
on therapy to be presented at the Association for Molecular Pathology
Annual Meeting
Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a leading molecular diagnostics company
commercializing and developing biomarkers used in liquid biopsies to
improve the detection and treatment of cancer, today announced that
findings demonstrating the ability to reliably detect actionable genetic
alterations used in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of patients
with lung cancer using its blood based biopsy, instead of surgical
biopsy, will be presented Friday, November 6th, at the
Association for Molecular Pathology Annual (AMP) Meeting in Austin,
Texas.
“The results of this study further demonstrate the ability of Biocept’s
liquid biopsy platforms to detect the presence of key cancer-associated
biomarkers, which can be used in aiding medical decision-making,” said
Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Director Veena Singh, MD. “In
this study we compared the results from our Target-Selector™ using blood
samples against tissue samples from 74 patients with lung cancer and
found concordance of greater than 93%. This high rate of concordance
further underscores the value of using our liquid biopsy platforms in
lung cancer patients.”
“The ability of the Target-Selector™ assay to detect rare genetic events
from blood has great utility when applied to patients with lung cancer,
where it is often challenging to obtain a tissue sample,” said Senior
Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Lyle Arnold, Ph.D. “It is
rewarding to see these assays clinically validated and being utilized by
physicians today for routine testing in patients with cancer.”
The abstract, titled “High Sensitivity Detection of Rare EGFR Mutations
with ctDNA Using Target-Selector Assays,” will be featured in a poster
presentation (ST 84) on November 6th at 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Central time. Abstract authors Drs. Singh and Arnold will be in
attendance for the poster presentation.
Biocept has a number of ongoing validation and clinical studies to
demonstrate the performance and clinical utility of its liquid biopsy
platform. These studies focus on the detection of key predictive
biomarkers in blood and then monitoring the concentrations of these
biomarkers throughout therapy.
Determining the presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood,
which is indicative of the presence of solid tumors, is the goal of
assays known as “liquid biopsies.” The use of a liquid biopsy is proving
useful for monitoring a patient’s tumor burden and for guiding the
personalized treatment of patients with cancer based on the presence of
biomarkers associated with solid tumors. Historically, solid tumor
tissue obtained from surgical biopsies has been used routinely to detect
the presence of key genomic biomarkers that can aid in the detection of
cancer and in treatment decision-making. The ability to detect these
same biomarkers based on material shed from the tumor into the blood
provides an alternative for physicians where a solid tumor biopsy is
difficult or impractical to obtain, or poses a high risk to the patient.
About Biocept
Biocept, Inc. is a commercial-stage molecular diagnostics company that
utilizes a proprietary technology platform and a standard blood sample
to provide physicians with important prognostic and predictive
information to enhance individual treatment of patients with cancer.
Biocept’s patented technology platform captures and analyzes circulating
tumor DNA, both in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and in plasma (ctDNA).
Biocept currently offers assays for gastric cancer, breast cancer, lung
cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma, and plans to introduce
CLIA-validated tests for other solid tumors in the near term. For
additional information, please visit www.biocept.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon
current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions
about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected
in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they
are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such
expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct.
Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of
words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these
words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. To
the extent that statements in this release are not strictly historical,
including without limitation statements as to the use of liquid biopsy
generally and the use of our liquid biopsy assays by physicians, such
statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, as these statements are subject to numerous risk factors as
set forth in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The
effects of such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this
release. We do not plan to update any such forward-looking statements
and expressly disclaim any duty to update the information contained in
this press release except as required by law. Readers are advised to
review our filings with the SEC, which can be accessed over the Internet
at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov.
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