Cytogen Develops and Produces Antibodies for Liquid Biopsy-Based Lung Cancer Diagnosis

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Cytogen, a liquid biopsy specialist company based on circulating tumor cells (CTC) (CEO Jeon Byunghee), announced on the 23rd that it has developed and started production of antibodies for lung cancer diagnosis based on liquid biopsy.

Lung cancer is commonly called a "difficult cancer." This is because there are almost no early symptoms, and many patients are already in the terminal stage where surgical resection is impossible at the time of detection.

The effective anticancer drugs vary depending on the presence of mutant genes in lung cancer patients, so more than one tissue biopsy is required. Lung cancer tissue biopsy is not easy. After confirming the suspected tumor mass through imaging tests, a thick needle is inserted through the skin to collect tissue from the corresponding area. Tissue must be obtained either by directly puncturing the lung or by bronchoscopic biopsy, but these methods carry risks of complications such as pneumothorax, and many patients find it difficult to undergo the procedure.

Additional tissue biopsies are also necessary during anticancer treatment for confirmation. This is due to drug resistance. After about one year of lung cancer anticancer drug use, genetic mutations occur in the body due to resistance, and cancer cells become less responsive to the drugs.

A representative example is the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene mutation, which occurs in about 40% of lung cancer patients (approximately 230,000 annually in the U.S. and 30,000 in Korea).

Re-biopsy is difficult because after about one year of anticancer treatment, the tumor size decreases, making it hard to accurately collect tissue. If the patient is elderly, the risk of complications such as pneumothorax and inflammation during biopsy is high, and if the cancer tissue is located deep in the peripheral lung, endoscopic access is difficult.

To overcome these limitations of lung cancer tissue biopsy and provide opportunities for personalized anticancer treatment to those who cannot undergo biopsy, research on liquid biopsy using blood is ongoing.

Liquid biopsy isolates cancer cells in the blood and examines their characteristics. Compared to tissue biopsy, it is easier to perform and can be conducted on patients for whom tissue biopsy is difficult. Due to these advantages, it is expected to be applied in anticancer treatment and drug development processes for various cancer types.

Cytogen has developed and started production of antibodies for four biomarkers that can monitor the drug effect of EGFR therapeutics and predict resistance to treatment based on liquid biopsy. Cytogen holds all rights to distribute these antibodies under commercial licenses.

A Cytogen official stated, "With the development of these antibodies, it will be possible to continuously monitor drug responsiveness through serial biopsies in lung cancer cases where tissue biopsy cannot be performed, and especially by early detection of factors showing resistance to EGFR therapeutics, it will help establish rapid treatment strategies." He added, "We plan to utilize the developed antibodies for diagnostic services through CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) in the U.S. and build a companion diagnostic platform targeting anticancer drugs for patients resistant to EGFR therapeutics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.