NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Trovagene today announced the expansion of a clinical collaboration with Genomac Research Institute using the company's technology for the early detection of emerging oncogene mutations associated with resistance to targeted lung and colorectal cancer therapies.
As part of the expanded collaboration, researchers at Genomac will use the Trovagene Precision Cancer Monitoring technology in two prospective clinical studies to be conducted in the Czech Republic. The first study will focus on lung cancer and enroll up to 300 patients. The second study of stage III and IV colorectal cancer will enroll up to 500 patients.
Trovagene CSO Mark Erlander said in a statement that initial work into KRAS mutations in archived samples are promising and the clinical program is being expanded "to demonstrate the utility of our novel molecular diagnostic platform and its potential to improve the standard of care for cancer patients."
Trovagene's technology isolates cell-free nucleic acids from urine for downstream analysis using platforms such as droplet-based digital PCR and next-generation sequencing.
Marek Minarik, lead investigator and director of the Center for Applied Genomics of Solid Tumor, a subsidiary of Genomac International, added that oncogene mutations associated with anti-EGFR treatment resistance, including KRAS and EGFR T790M, are the primary cause of disease progression after initial positive response to first-line colorectal and lung cancer treatments. Trovagene's technology could "become a viable alternative to standard imaging techniques, aiding timely decision on the course of therapy made by our clinical partners."