On May 29, 2020 Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a leading commercial provider of molecular technologies designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to improve the outcomes of patients with cancer, announces the presentation of data affirming the ability of its Target Selector platform to identify potentially actionable mutations in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients whose cancer has metastasized to the central nervous system (Press release, Biocept, MAY 29, 2020, View Source [SID1234558761]). The data were presented today by Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, an oncologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the study’s principal investigator, in a poster at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Scientific Program. The abstract is available here.

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The presence of tumor cells in cerebrospinal fluid may be an indicator of brain metastases, which occur when cancer has spread to the central nervous system. Biocept’s Target Selector assays can detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating DNA (ctDNA) and identify cancer associated biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid. The Company can also identify biomarkers with testing CTCs and ctDNA in the blood of patients diagnosed with cancer. Identifying biomarkers is necessary for physicians in selecting targeted therapies. Up to 30% and 36% of patients diagnosed with breast and lung cancer, respectively, will develop brain metastases during the course of treatment. In January 2020, Biocept announced the commercial availability of its Target Selector cerebrospinal fluid assays for the rapid identification of molecular alterations in brain metastases in patients with primary breast or lung cancer.

The poster presentation today reported higher sensitivity with Target Selector in detecting cancer material and identifying leptomeningeal metastases (cancer in the thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord) in cerebrospinal fluid compared with cerebrospinal fluid cytology, the standard-of-care technology.

"Cerebrospinal fluid cytology for the detection of leptomeningeal metastases is the standard, but it often results in false negative results, and lacks sensitivity in detecting biomarkers. These results show Biocept’s Target Selector is a promising tool to meet an underserved need in providing this critical information," said Dr. Kalinsky.

"We are excited to share these data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) as they support our belief that Target Selector has potential applicability for identifying actionable mutations in patients with brain metastases allowing physicians the choice to test cerebrospinal fluid, blood or both when looking for biomarker information in order to choose the most appropriate therapy," said Michael Nall, President and CEO of Biocept. "We are planning a larger study to further validate the sensitivity of our Target Selector technology compared with cerebrospinal fluid cytology with the goal of making our platform the standard of care for leptomeningeal metastases testing.

"We’d like to thank Dr. Kalinsky for his continued leadership of this study and others at Biocept who help further validate the use of our technology for the benefit of patients with devastating cancer metastases," he added.

Dr. Kalinsky reports no related financial or conflicts of interest with this study.

About Biocept’s Cerebrospinal Fluid Testing
A medical procedure known as a spinal tap or lumbar puncture is typically performed to collect cerebrospinal fluid when cancer patients present with central nervous system symptoms, for example confusion or dementia. More than 200,000 of these procedures are performed annually in the U.S. Biocept’s Target Selector testing provides an alternative and potentially more accurate means of detecting biomarkers from CTCs or ctDNA of patients with cancer that has metastasized to the central nervous system compared with cerebrospinal fluid cytology. For more information about Biocept’s Target Selector testing, please contact Biocept Customer Services at 888-332-7729.