OncoDNA and Institut Curie test the clinical utility of personalized liquid biopsy in head and neck cancers

• THE ONCOFOLLOW™ TESTS WILL HELP MONITOR DISEASE PROGRESSION IN PATIENTS UNDER TREATMENT WITHIN THE SCANDARE STUDY

OncoDNA, a theranostic and genomic company specializing in precision medicine, announced the launch of a research project in collaboration with the French foundation for cancer research Institut Curie. The objective of this project is to assess the clinical utility of liquid biopsy for head and neck cancer patient monitoring.

Initiated in 2016 by Institut Curie, the SCANDARE study aims to incorporate new dimensions to precision medicine. SCANDARE consists of integrating microenvironment and immune parameters into the analysis of a tumor along with the molecular alterations of the tumor. As part of the study, Institut Curie has teamed up with OncoDNA to evaluate the utility of liquid biopsy as a tool to monitor disease progression in patients treated for head and neck cancer.

OncoDNA and Institut Curie will analyze nearly 300 plasma samples with the aim of tracking the presence of circulating tumor DNA in patients' blood. The patients will undergo the OncoFOLLOW™ tests at different stages of treatment (surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy). The analyses will focus on tumor-specific mutations and therefore personalize the monitoring of each patient. The tests will follow patients’ response to treatment in real time and will guide the selection of alternative therapies in the event of new mutations.

"OncoDNA is delighted to work alongside Institut Curie to assess the potential of liquid biopsy in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Through this project, we hope to provide new clinical evidence to facilitate the integration of personalized liquid biopsy into routine care and demonstrate the value of OncoFOLLOW™ for the monitoring of individual patients," commented Dr. Jean-François Laes, Scientific Director at OncoDNA.

"This partnership opens up promising perspectives in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients treated for head and neck cancer. Liquid biopsies could be valuable alternatives to solid biopsies, which are sometimes delicate in this particular disease," added Professor Christophe Le Tourneau, Head of Department of Drug Development and Innovation (D3i) at Institut Curie, and principal investigator of the SCANDARE study.

Liquid biopsy is a revolutionary tool in oncology. It brings many benefits to oncologists and their patients, particularly through its minimally invasive nature. It enables the surveillance of tumor progression in a patient based on a simple blood sample.

ABOUT ONCODNA

OncoDNA is a theranostic and genomic company with renown expertise in precision medicine. The company provides comprehensive testing of cancer biomarkers (DNA, RNA and proteins) on solid and liquid biopsies as well NGS data interpretation services to oncologists, research institutes and biopharmaceutical companies across the globe. The company headquarters are based in Belgium, and its two entities – IntegraGen, a company specializing in the decryption of the human genome and Biosequence – are headquartered in France and Spain, respectively. The group employs approx. 115 employees in 9 countries, works with an international network of 35 distributors and collaborates with one European-based and one US-based subcontracted accredited laboratories.

For further information, visit www.oncodna.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

ABOUT INSTITUT CURIE

Institut Curie, France’s leading cancer center, combines an internationally-renowned research center with a cutting-edge hospital group that treats all types of cancer, including the rarest. Founded in 1909 by Marie Curie, Institut Curie employs 3,600 researchers, physicians, and health professionals across three sites (Paris, Saint-Cloud, and Orsay), working on its three missions: treatment, research, and teaching. A private foundation with public utility status, Institut Curie is authorized to receive donations and legacies, and thanks to the support of its donors, is able to make discoveries more quickly, improving treatments and quality of life for patients. For more information, visit: www.curie.fr

Since 2011, Institut Curie is certified "Institut Carnot Curie Cancer". The Carnot label is a label of excellence granted to academic research structures with proven high quality and involvement in partnership research. Curie Cancer offers industrial partners the opportunity to set up research collaborations, benefiting from the expertise of Institut Curie teams, for the development of innovative therapeutic solutions against cancers from the therapeutic target to clinical validation.

For more information: http://www.instituts-carnot.eu/fr/institut-carnot/curie-cancer