NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Biocept announced today that it has partnered with Providence St. Joseph Health, Southern California, and its affiliates Saint John's Health Center and the John Wayne Cancer Institute, to evaluate usage of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) in liquid biopsy testing for metastatic cancer.
Biocept will use its Target Selector liquid biopsy platform to test CSF samples from patients diagnosed with certain types of cancer, including breast, lung, and melanoma, as well as other malignancies to determine if leptomeningeal metastases (LM) has occurred. Researchers will then compare the results to standard methods of testing to confirm the diagnosis.
"We look forward to using Biocept's Target Selector technology to evaluate oncologic biomarkers in the CSF of patients with cancer, with the potential to validate a rapid and accurate solution for confirming LM," John Wayne Cancer Institute Director of Neuro-oncology Santosh Kesari said in a statement. "This study is aimed at addressing a major need in the treatment of metastatic disease, given the devastating nature of LM involvement in many cancer types."
Biocept CEO Michael Nall said that the study will also help further validate the clinical utility of Target Selector.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Earlier this month, Biocept partnered with Agiomix to validate Target Selector to ensure comparability of results achieved in Biocept's San Diego CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited facility.