Liquid Biopsy Diagnostic Test for Colorectal Cancer Launched

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 15 Sep 2015

A new test has been launched that uses a patient's blood sample to detect Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), a predictive biomarker for solid tumor cancers.

Testing for this predictive biomarker will help physicians identify patients who might benefit from targeted therapies currently available to treat solid tumor cancers, and as the test has the high sensitivity it can be used for monitoring patients for response to treatment and progression of disease during the course of therapy.

Image: Histopathology of a tubular adenoma (left of image), a type of colonic polyp and a precursor of colorectal cancer (Photo courtesy of Nephron).

KRAS mutations occur in approximately 40% of patients with colorectal cancer, and have been identified in high frequency in lung, pancreatic and other solid tumor cancers. Mutations in the KRAS gene have been shown to be predictive to resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, such as panitumumab and cetuximab. The liquid biopsy test is called Target Selector Assay that targets mutations in the KRAS gene and is a product of Biocept, Inc., (San Diego, CA, USA) a molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing liquid biopsies to improve the detection and treatment of cancer.

Veena Singh, MD, Biocept's Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Director said, “Understanding a patient's KRAS status is required to prequalify that patient for specific antibody-based targeted therapies. Additionally, disease recurrence or progression in a patient treated with an anticancer agent can indicate an evolution in the tumor's mutational landscape and a change in a patient's biomarker status. Our liquid biopsy, using a simple blood draw, enables a physician to monitor a patient's KRAS status over time to identify these changes and respond accordingly.”

Lyle Arnold, PhD, Biocept's Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, added, “Patients with solid tumor cancers such as lung, colorectal and pancreatic can exhibit few symptoms until the disease reaches an advanced stage. The ability to detect KRAS mutations could be vital in helping to diagnose these patients earlier in the diseases' progression. The high sensitivity of our mutation test also offers an advantage in monitoring patients at high risk for disease recurrence without the use of invasive tissue biopsies.”

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Biocept, Inc.