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Biocept, UT Southwestern to study liquid biopsy platform in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer
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Biocept Inc. and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center entered a clinical study agreement to evaluate the clinical utility of Biocept’s Target Selector platform for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.
The liquid biopsy platform is designed to capture and analyze tumor-associated molecular markers in both circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA to identify cancer mutations and alterations that can inform physicians about a patient's disease and potential therapeutic options.
“We continue to evaluate our Target Selector platform in clinical studies in which the identification of ALK fusions and other alterations with our assays can help guide treatment decisions resulting in improved patient outcomes,” Michael Nall, president and CEO of Biocept, said in a company-issued press release. “Our Target Selector tests can be used to help physicians rapidly obtain the actionable information they need to design personalized treatment plans for their cancer patients.”
Lead investigator Saad Khan, MD, medical oncologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and colleagues will determine the clinical utility of Biocept’s Target Selector platform in patients diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC who receive ALK inhibitor therapy.
The study also will evaluate patients with rare cancers, including anaplastic thyroid cancer, to determine if driver mutations such as ALK rearrangements can be identified and treated with targeted therapy to improve patient outcomes.
“Identifying ALK rearrangements in patients with lung cancer has become important as new targeted therapies are available to help manage disease in patients harboring this type of alteration,” Khan said in the release. “We have designed this study to demonstrate the ability to rapidly identify ALK rearrangements, and to provide further evidence that patients with both non-small cell lung cancer and rare cancers harboring ALK alterations can benefit from targeted therapy and serial monitoring of ALK and other key alterations.”