Biocept is a diagnostic company that focuses on developing solutions aimed to optimize outcomes for cancer patients. Their most recent diagnostic comes in the form of a liquid biopsy, developed in an effort to alter the way in which doctors and other clinicians interpret blood samples of cancer patients.
The company’s patented methodology works to isolate and identify those indicators of cancer that appear in the bloodstream. These include circulating tumor cells, (CTCs) and cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
Biocept’s testing service analyzes CTCs and ctDNA for these particular biomarkers.
This allows doctors to stay informed regarding the actionable molecular information associated with a particular patient’s cancer. A blood sample is used to obtain molecular information in a way that is not only less invasive, but also faster than a traditional tissue biopsy. This liquid biopsy diagnostic is an alternative to tissue biopsies when the latter is insufficient or not available. As a result, Biocept’s testing service allows a doctor to obtain the critical information they need to develop a personalized cancer treatment plan for their patients.
So far, Biocept’s liquid biopsies have been used by doctors in thousands of patient cases. Established partnerships with industry leaders and major cancer centers has allowed the test to remain widely available, creating an easily-accessible advanced cancer diagnostic.
The technology behind the blood test stems from the company’s Target Selector set of technologies and tests. The biopsy provides real-time explanations for physicians about the molecular drivers of a patient’s diseases, allowing a doctor to design and pursue responsive, personalized, and effective treatment plans for their cancer patient. By identifying and thereby isolating CTCs in cancer patients, doctors can further evaluate a patient prognosis, as well as their responsiveness to therapy.
The technology is grounded in an antibody-based enrichment technique that detects extremely low levels of CTCs in a patient’s blood sample (as low as 1 tumor cell for every 1 million non-cancerous cells). The test only requires a blood sample. The therapy does not require surgical biopsy of tissue, and unlike CT Scans, PET/CT scans, and X-Rays, no radiation exposure is involved. The patient is not required to fast prior to the blood test, and it may be performed before, during, and after his or her therapy.
For more on Biocept, visit the company’s website.
