On Monday, U.K-based biotech company Angle plc (OTCQX:$ANPCY) disclosed the trial results of a possible breakthrough blood test for diagnosing ovarian cancer.
Essentially, Angle’s blood test could allow for a quicker diagnosis and referral for women that have malignant tumors to specialist surgeons.
With a sample size of 400 patients in the U.S. and in Europe, the world-leading liquid biopsy company said that its new test proved 95% accuracy at catching cancerous cells in the bloodstream. Additionally, the test was almost twice as effective as current tests at identifying false-positives.
Yet another reason as to why this discovery is considered to be a breakthrough is because it can help the medical community differentiate more easily between malignant ovarian tumors and benign tumors. This will allow for more cost-effective referrals to a specialist or general surgeon.
Sadly, there are 7,400 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.K. each year. But Andrew Newlands, founder and chief executive of Angle, believes that liquid biopsy has the potential to “transform cancer care in the future.” He added, “through a simple blood test, it will be possible to provide repeat testing of patients’ cancer.”
Following the release of the trial results, Louise Baye, the chief executive of Ovacome, said that she was happy that the test had “the potential to make the significant leap forward in diagnosing this difficult to detect disease.” Baye added: “Our members experience significant delays between presentation at their GP and a referral and a simple blood test performed earlier in the diagnostic pathway has the potential to make significant impacts on the outcomes for thousands of women.”
In addition, Angle’s trial illustrated the potential to gather gene expression information that can assist with selecting the right treatment.
Now test results will be confirmed in another study that is designed to meet European CE Mark and US FDA regulatory requirements.
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