Biotron begins cancer detection assay trials

A new clinical diagnostic assay for prostate cancer detection is starting clinical trials at St Vincent's Clinic in Sydney.

The CT-2 test has been developed by Canberra-based biotechnology company Biotron. It is based on research performed by Prof Christopher Parrish, who heads up the Division of Immunology and Cell Biology at ANU's John Curtin School of Medical Research.

According to Biotron's Business Development Manager, Dr Michelle Miller, the new clinical study will probably take about 6 months to complete depending on patient enrolment.

The CT-2 cancer test is based on the premise that different cancers have different biomarker profiles. The test uses mass spectrometry to identify the pattern of cancer specific non-protein biomarkers to provide a "fingerprint" to identify the type of cancer.

This trial will focus on developing the spectrometric fingerprint for prostate cancer. 120 patients with prostate cancer, as well as additional patients with benign prostate conditions and healthy prostates will take part in the trial in the Urology Department at St Vincent's Clinic.

"With the first set of 50 patients, we will be developing the algorithm, and with the next 70 we will validate the approach," said Miller.

She explained that the advantage of the CT-2 test would be its specificity and sensitivity for detecting prostate cancer and its non-invasive nature.

Biotron expects that this approach will also be suitable for other types of cancer and will be embarking on additional studies later this year, Miller added.

If the trial is successful, Miller said that Biotron would be looking at partnering opportunities to further develop the test as a commercial product.

The Biotron share price (ASX: BIT) lost 9 per cent after the announcement on Thursday. At the time of writing the share price was $0.50.