Precipio (NASDAQ:PRPO), announced today that it has launched two new ICEme assays using its proprietary ICE-COLD PCR technology. The new ICEme assays cover PIK3CA exons 9 & 20, and achieve a level of sensitivity of 0.1%, enabling their use with liquid biopsies. As quoted in the press release: PIK3CA mutations occur in about 25% to 40% of …

As quoted in the press release:

PIK3CA mutations occur in about 25% to 40% of breast cancer, 36% of endometrial cancer, and 32% of colon cancers.¹ Presence of PIK3CA mutations is associated with resistance to various therapies for breast cancer patients, and in fact have indicated resistance to therapies, thus requiring different or more aggressive treatment. PIK3CA has also indicated resistance to cetuximab therapy in patients with colorectal cancer. PIK3CA mutations can identify prognostic relevant subgroups within breast, endometrial and colon cancers. These mutations occur less frequently in lung cancer and other types of cancer.
PIK3CA mutations predict a shorter disease-free and relapse-free survival; they also forecast higher mortality rates in patients with wild-type KRAS tumors than in those with KRAS-mutated tumors.²
Precipio’s multiplexed ICE COLD-PCR™ test offers major advantages over current sequencing technologies, delivering at least a 500-fold improvement in sensitivity compared to standard methodologies. This enables detection levels of circulating tumor DNA as low as 0.1% on plasma (blood) samples. Also, its ultra-high sensitivity makes it feasible to conduct comprehensive genomic analyses using liquid biopsies. Lastly, at a price point that is a fraction of the cost of competing assays, ICP provides substantial economic advantages to laboratories.

Click here to read the full press release.