GATCLIQUID ONCOTARGET Expanded to Cover Blood Cancers such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia

GATC Biotech, a world-wide leading provider of innovative sequencing and diagnostic solutions, announced the immediate expansion of the company’s liquid biopsy service: GATCLIQUID ONCOTARGET. With a simple blood draw, sensitive detection of blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) in addition to melanoma, lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers through analysis of actionable mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is now enabled. The service reliably profiles 12 cancer genomic alterations so far.

The continuously expanding target list makes GATCLIQUID ONCOTARGET suitable for detection and regular monitoring of various cancers that are difficult to characterize with conventional diagnostic procedures.

“GATCLIQUID ONCOTARGET is now applicable to various rare and common cancers types such as NSCLC, pancreas, colorectal cancer, melanoma and blood cancer such as AML or MPNs,” said Dr Tobias Paprotka, Director of R&D at GATC Biotech. “Increasing the number of mutational targets that can be analyzed with very high sensitivity strongly supports our mission of advancing cancer precision care. With cost-efficient surveillance of the most relevant mutation in a specific cancer case, we hope to support oncologists in finding the most suitable therapy for each individual patient. We will achieve this by providing clinicians the means to closely evaluate the efficacy of the patient’s treatment course and to react promptly to the emergence of any treatment resistance.”

The new target set has been established in close collaboration with specialized clinical researchers to profile additional hotspot mutations in established cancer biomarkers like NRAS and EGFR. The list encompasses genomic alterations in more than the usual suspects in cancer development, such as BRAF, KRAS and EGFR. Clinically actionable mutations can now be analyzed in key cancer drivers including JAK2, IDH1, NRAS and c-KIT.

The droplet digital PCR test offers detection of genomic alterations with a sensitivity as low as 0.1%. Proprietary workflows and cutting-edge technologies together enable precise quantification of low-level mutations during treatment, as well as detection of cancer recurrence often prior to clinical progression. GATC Biotech has already teamed up with expert cancer researchers to continuously grow the list of targeted actionable mutations to improve cancer patient outcomes.

“In the following weeks, we will enhance the world’s only research service for real-time profiling of tumor characteristics by adding another target set with even more key cancer drivers that are important for reliable, non-invasive cancer management,” concluded Dr Paprotka.