Biomarker Commons

As we've done in previous years here at Biomarker Commons (AACR 2011 and AACR 2012), here's a roundup of eight research studies on cancer biomarkers that were presented last month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Two independent validation studies demonstrate that Pronota’s biomarker CD146 significantly improves the diagnosis of acute heart failure for patients with shortness of breath. The biomarker, measured in blood, provides clinicians with unique additional information allowing better treatment of this challenging group of patients.

Current diagnosis for acute heart failure is limited

A new system for isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) – living solid tumor cells found at low levels in the bloodstream – shows significant improvement over previously developed devices and does not require prior identification of tumor-specific target molecules. Developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Engineering in Medicine and the MGH Cancer Center, the device rapidly delivers a population of unlabeled tumor cells that can be analyzed with both standard clinical diagnostic cytopathology and advanced genetic and molecular technology.

Veridex, LLC (Veridex) recently announced that the first study of the company's next-generation circulating tumor cell (CTC) technology, developed in collaboration with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), has been published in Science Translational Medicine. The collaboration, initially announced in January 2011, has led to the development of a next-generation CTC (or "liquid biopsy") technology that offers enhanced specificity and sensitivity and enables more extensive characterization of captured cells.