CellMax-LBx Liquid Biopsy

California-based #CellMax Life, the precision cancer testing company, said its CellMax-LBx Liquid Biopsy is available in India.

CellMax-LBx is a cancer blood test which analyzes circulating tumor #DNA (ctDNA). The assay provides oncologists with a valuable tool in managing their patients’ cancer treatments, monitoring treatment response, and assessing the risk of recurrence.

The non-invasive blood test allows for greater testing frequency for “real-time” monitoring. #CellMax-LBx is intended as a supplement to a tissue biopsy, and as an ideal alternative when tissue biopsy is not possible.

The test profiles 73 genes from circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), to identify and assess actionable genomic alterations using CellMax Life’s proprietary single-molecule-sequencing SMSEQ™ platform, which has a greater than 99.999% specificity and an analytical detection limit of 0.1% (sensitivity).

There is growing evidence and medical acceptance that tumor signatures in a cancer patient’s blood – and their changes over time – can offer valuable, systemic insight into therapy selection, cancer treatment monitoring and recurrence.

Non-invasive “liquid biopsies” such as blood tests are growing in use as they help overcome problems of inherent tumor heterogeneity of cancer cells, while providing previously unavailable insight into drug-resistance. They are key in tracking and monitoring an otherwise intractable disease.

Due to their non-invasive nature, liquid biopsies can be less expensive than surgically-obtained tissue biopsies. Liquid biopsies are more comfortable for patients, which is especially important given the stress that cancer and associated treatments already place on patients.

Circulating tumor DNA are small DNA fragments shed by the tumor. Tumor genes may mutate over time, either as the cancer grows, or the treatment suppresses the cancer. ctDNA gives an accurate, real-time picture of these cancer mutations.

Being able to detect the smallest signals and trends from the ctDNA biomarker throughout the cancer management process offers timely insight and may yield information into the most effective treatment regimens tailored to the patient’s specific cancer genomic profile.

“CellMax-LBx Liquid Biopsy will be a major factor in cancer treatment; the specificity of the assay is greater than 99.999% due to CellMax’s innovative SMSEQ platform,” stated #Dr. Ruey-Kuen Hsieh, MD, Oncologist, Superior Commissioner, Superintendent’s Office, Sr. Attending Physician, and former Cancer Center Chair, #MacKay Memorial Hospital.

“CellMax-LBx Liquid Biopsy provides a systemic gene analysis to help oncologists identify optimal targeted cancer treatments with fewer side-effects, either as a supplement to tissue biopsy, or when tissue-biopsy is not possible. Additionally, since this test requires only a routine blood draw, it enables us to track our patients’ response to treatment in real-time, as well as monitor them more frequently to warn of cancer recurrence as early as possible,” said Dr Hsieh.

CellMax-LBx liquid biopsies were conducted separately on a pleural effusion sample and a routine peripheral blood-sample — both revealed an actionable EGFR mutation. Additionally, both biopsies revealed a TP53 mutation for which the CellMax-LBx report identified a drug in Phase-3 trial,” said Li-Kuan Chen, MD, Chair, Department of Clinical Pathology, #Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. fii-news.com