ANGLE (AGL ) has highlighted new research demonstrating the ability of its Parsortix® system to harvest circulating tumour cells (CTCs) with a mesenchymal phenotype, a biologic process which can be used to detect the metastatic biomarker cysteine-rich angiogenetic inducer 61 (Cyr61) in breast cancer patients. 

The AIM-listed liquid biopsy company said the research was published by the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany in the peer reviewed journal Cancers.  

Specifically, the Cyr61 protein is a potent regulator of many cellular functions important in cancer development. It is expressed in most forms of solid tumours and in breast cancer, which means it can potentially play a role in tumour progression, metastatic expansion, as well as the development of resistance to anti-cancer drugs including endocrine therapies. 

In the study, researchers found that Cyr61 was over-expressed in 43% of CTCs isolated from 35 breast cancer patients. They were also able to demonstrate in breast cancer cell-lines that the loss of Cyr61 reduced the viability of tumour cells by decreasing cancer cell proliferation and cell survival.  

As such, Cyr61 might serve as a novel marker for CTCs and disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) similar to those found in the bone marrow and help identify cells with a more aggressive phenotype, meaning it could become a target for developing anti-metastatic drugs. 

Overall, the study demonstrated how CTCs can provide ‘insight into molecular mechanisms of cancer cell resistance and metastatic spread’, which the Group said could have potential as a novel therapeutic target in treating drug-resistant breast cancers. 

CTCs, as a liquid biopsy, have significant potential as a complementary prognostic and diagnostic tool for clinicians as they provide access to tumour cells through a non-invasive, real-time method, giving clinicians insight into clonal evolution during tumour metastasis.  

‘Critically, the analysis of CTCs from a blood sample has the potential to provide actionable information for the approximately 50% of all MBC patients who are unable to have a solid tissue biopsy of the metastatic site,’ the Company informed investors.  

Shares in ANGLE have more than doubled over the past three months from 42.75p in November 2020. The stock was trading 6.78% higher today at 94.5p following the news. 

In the US, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women with an estimated 276,480 new cases recorded in 2020. According to recent data, US death rates have risen 2.8% per year for women in their 20s and 0.3% per year for women in their 30s since 2010. 

ANGLE has highlighted to investors that despite new treatment options and advances in patient management protocols, some 30% of women initially diagnosed with earlier stages of breast cancer eventually develop recurrent advanced or metastatic disease.  

Although the prognosis of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has significantly improved, metastatic disease remains largely incurable with median survival of three years. 

"This new study observed that mesenchymal DTCs are strongly positive for PD-L1 and Cyr61 and that Cyr61/PD-L1 double-positive DTCs may escape the immune system and establish distant metastasis,” commented ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland. 

He highlighted that “Cyr61 might therefore serve as a novel biomarker for a subset of CTCs and DTCs with high plasticity in breast cancer.” In addition, he said Cyr61 might represent “an interesting anti-metastatic target” that could potentially be explored in future studies. 

He added that, “ANGLE's ability to provide this actionable information should prove highly attractive to drug developers looking for new approaches for hard-to-treat cancers and bodes well for the forthcoming launch of our new pharmaceutical services business." 

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