Predicting response to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with Ki67 testing
Ki67 testing could play a vital role in helping tailor treatments for people with ER-positive breast cancers. However, long-standing problems with immunohistochemistry (IHC) are preventing patients from benefitting from this biomarker. In this blog post, we outline the potential of Ki67 in the neoadjuvant setting, and why we need to look at alternatives to IHC.
Using RT-qPCR to identify patients liable to show resistance to endocrine therapy
Endocrine therapy has for decades been one of the key treatment choices for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Yet predicting who will and won’t benefit from therapy remains a challenge. In this article, we explore whether gene expression profiling with MammaTyper® may make up for the shortfalls of IHC in this area.
Interview: Cristian Scatena, on predicting response to NAT
We spoke to Dr Scatena about recent work he presented at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Milan.
Predicting recurrence with progesterone receptor testing using MammaTyper®
One of our four key goals for clinical validation in 2024 is to demonstrate that progesterone receptor (PR) testing with MammaTyper® could be used for predicting risk of recurrence. In this article, we assess the current role of PR, where IHC testing falls short, and how MammaTyper® could provide a reliable, more accessible option for risk scoring.
Defining HER2-low using MammaTyper®
One of our four key goals for clinical validation in 2024 is to demonstrate that MammaTyper® is a more reliable way to define HER2-low status.
Cerca Biotech’s 2023 Highlights
2023 was a stand out year for Cerca Biotech. We doubled our team, added a major partner in Sysmex Europe, and were present at all the major congresses.
SABCS 2023: Study shows that locally-performed RNA-based PGR test could effectively predict breast cancer tumour expression
A seminal study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) this week has shown that a validated, locally performed, RNA-based progesterone receptor (PGR) expression test could predict tumour gene expression results and independently identify tumours that are unlikely to be chemotherapy sensitive. This could screen out further genomic testing for up to 70% of patients.
Cerca Biotech and Sysmex announce major MammaTyper® European distribution agreement
Cerca Biotech, the company behind MammaTyper®, the innovative breast cancer diagnostic assay, have signed a multi-market European distribution agreement with Sysmex Europe SE. The agreement means that MammaTyper® will form part of the Sysmex Life Sciences portfolio in 13 European markets, including the UK, Ireland and much of mainland Europe. It follows on from successful partnerships for Cerca Biotech with distributors based in Italy, Turkey and Switzerland
New study proves ability of MammaTyper® to accurately distinguish HER2-low breast cancer tumours
A new study conducted in China and accepted as a poster at the ASCO congress in Chicago, has shown that MammaTyper®, an RT-qPCR assay, has the ability to accurately distinguish between HER2-low/neg breast cancer tumours. This means that therapies such as Trastuzumab deruxtecan that are specifically designed to target these types of tumours can be prescribed where appropriate and treatment is more likely to be successful.
HER2-low – is IHC good enough anymore?
We look closer at the recent draft guidelines on HER2-testing in breast cancer, and examine alternatives to immunohistochemistry (IHC) for the task of identifying HER2-low tumours. In June 2022, one conference presentation changed how we use HER2-directed treatments in breast cancer – and challenged the status quo in HER2 testing. Is RT-qPCR the alternative to IHC for HER2 testing?
World Cancer Day - 4 Feb
This World Cancer Day we are proud to be featured in ITN's programme - Working Together: To Tackle Cancer. Alongside other leading organisations including Cancer Research UK, we discuss the importance of accurate diagnostics in the ever-evolving world of Cancer treatment.
What have we been up to in January?
Happy new year! We got 2023 off to a great start with our MammaTyper® International Distributor Meeting on 12th and 13th of January in Venice. Our distributors brought a wealth of clinical and technical expertise from the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Czech Republic, Romania, Israel and Greece. Our community benefitted from pathology and oncology talks from eminent clinicians, who presented the latest updates to the MammaTyper® evidence-base. Professor Abeer Shaaban attended the day: find out more about her work in breast pathology on our blog.
Interview: Professor Abeer Shaaban: consultant breast pathologist
Professor Abeer Shaaban is a specialist consultant breast pathologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham. She has led a number of research studies and contributed to landmark breast cancer trials. Dr Shaaban recently led a study with a team of researchers from the UK and Egypt comparing MammaTyper® ® RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assessment on needle core biopsies of breast cancer. We spoke to Professor Shaaban about her life-saving work and her role in this piece of research.
Stage 4 breast cancer: treatment advances
Stage 4 breast cancer is also known as metastatic breast cancer, secondary breast cancer or advanced breast cancer. All these terms cover cases where the cancer has metastasized from the breast to other regions of the body. Most commonly the lymph nodes, bone, liver, lungs and brain. Signs of metastatic breast cancer depend on the site of spread
New multigene breast cancer test could speed up accurate diagnosis for women, evidence suggests
Every breast cancer tumour is unique. Accurate subtyping of breast cancer tumors is essential to determine the type of treatment that the disease is likely to respond to. This has become especially important in hard to diagnose triple negative and HER2-low cases where new immunotherapy drugs have been recently approved for use.
Treatment for triple-negative breast cancer will now be available for patients in England
The rapid diagnosis, subtyping and identification of tumours, including those that are triple-negative, is key to the fight against breast cancer.
Low HER2 breast cancer: progress in treatment needs progress in diagnostics.
Improving accurate detection of low HER-2 breast cancers.
Cerca Biotech
Cerca Biotech is the European subsidiary of Shuwen Biotech, who you might already recognise as being a highly reputable and innovative molecular and point of care diagnostics organisation.
MammaTyper® is a new tool for subtyping breast cancer.
READ MORE +ABOUT US
Cerca Biotech
Cerca Biotech is the European subsidiary of Shuwen Biotech, a highly reputable and innovative molecular and point of care diagnostics organisation. Shuwen and Cerca are passionate about healthcare and are working to create world-leading innovations in the fields of Oncology and Women’s Health.
High-performance test
Quantitative RT-qPCR assay (CE marked IVD)
- Highly reproducible biomarker assessment
- Reliable results through standardized biomarker detection
- Accurate stratification of breast cancer tumors into St Gallen subtypes
Promising clinical utility
Clinical value validated in numerous performance evaluation studies
- Outperforms IHC by accurate Ki-67 determination
- Provides information on patient‘s prognosis
- Accurate subtyping supports treatment decisions
Easy-to-use
Clinical value validated in numerous performance evaluation studies
- Reliable method for any molecular pathology laboratory
- Validated for multiple qPCR instruments*
- From resection or core needle biopsy FFPE sample to result within 6 hours FFPE = formalin fixed paraffin embedded
NEWS
Recent article and news
Predicting response to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with Ki67 testing
Ki67 testing could play a vital role in helping tailor treatments for people with ER-positive breast cancers. However, long-standing problems with immunohistochemistry (IHC) are preventing patients from benefitting from this biomarker. In this blog post, we outline the potential of Ki67 in the neoadjuvant setting, and why we need to look at alternatives to IHC.
Using RT-qPCR to identify patients liable to show resistance to endocrine therapy
Endocrine therapy has for decades been one of the key treatment choices for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Yet predicting who will and won’t benefit from therapy remains a challenge. In this article, we explore whether gene expression profiling with MammaTyper® may make up for the shortfalls of IHC in this area.
Interview: Cristian Scatena, on predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy
We spoke to Dr Scatena about recent work he presented at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Milan, using MammaTyper® to predict the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancers. We also discussed the role that artificial intelligence will have in pathology in the future.