Overcoming Tissue-based Biomarker Detection Challenges with Quanticell™   

Authors:

Apollina Goel, Ph.D. | Director of Translational Biomarkers for Advanced Pathology Services, Invicro

Kenneth Bloom, M.D., F.A.C.P. | Chief Medical Officer for Advanced Pathology and Genomic Services, Konica Minolta Precision Medicine  

Joseph Krueger, Ph.D. | V.P of Research & Applications for Advanced Pathology Services, Invicro

Hiroyuki Yokota, Ph.D. | Senior Manager, Konica Minolta Precision Medicine

 

The ability to accurately detect and measure biomarkers improves our understanding of the pathophysiology of diseases, helps establish cutoff values, stratify patients in clinical trials and predict and monitor response to targeted therapies. In addition, biomarkers, such as certain proteins expressed on tumor cells help clinicians tailor treatment plans for patients. These biomarkers can also be recognized as companion diagnostics when cleared by regulatory agencies, such as the FDA for specific drugs. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a widely used technique in surgical and diagnostic pathology to identify the presence, location and semi-quantitatively assess specific biomarkers at the tissue level.

Despite its widespread clinical utility, IHC has specific limitations, including lack of precise quantification, limited sensitivity to detect low levels of proteins, pre-analytical influences and inter-laboratory variability. In this technical white paper, we introduce Quanticell–a novel fluorescent nanoparticle detection technology that provides greater sensitivity with a much wider dynamic range, which is critical for the development of new markers.

In this technical white paper, you will learn:

  • The importance of accurately measuring biomarkers while maintaining tissue morphology, especially in Immuno-oncology drug development.
  • The current challenges with chromogenic and fluorescent detection approaches and explain how the Quanticell detection technology addresses them.
  • How Quanticell was used to assess low HER2 in breast cancer, tracking the distribution of systemically administered biological therapies and quantification of extranuclear ERα as a prognostic biomarker in in HER2 negative breast cancer.