Liquid Biopsy for Prostate Cancer Uses Urine as the Specimen

There have been lots of new developments in the world of the liquid biopsy and I have blogged about some of the most recent (see, for example:Grail Picks Specific Method for Liquid Biopsy Clinical Trials;Study Concludes That Liquid Biopsies Can Help Guide Cancer Treatment). However a recent article caught my attention because it involved urine as the required specimen rather than blood and also involvedexosomes which are extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced in the endosomal compartment of most eukaryotic cells as well as cancer cells (see:Bio-Techne nets FDA breakthrough ticket in prostate cancer liquid biopsy). Exosomes contain various molecular constituents of their cell of origin including proteins and RNA. Below is an excerpt from the article: Bio-Techne ’s urine test, designed to track down the exosomes and genomic markers released from prostate cancer cells, has received a breakthrough device designation from the FDA for ruling out unnecessary tissue biopsies. The company describes itsExoDx Prostate IntelliScore test as the first liquid biopsy to receive breakthrough status for targeting exosomes, which are the small capsules released by cells carrying molecular cargo related to cell waste or communication and also bear RNA signatures of their home cell.The test aims to spare patients an unneeded tissue biopsy following the results of a prostate-specific antigen blood test, or PSA reading —which can give false positive results or mistake relatively smal...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Diagnostics Genomic Testing Healthcare Innovations Lab Industry Trends Medical Research Source Type: blogs