Two Pore Guys and UCSF collaborate on liquid biopsy study with first handheld device for cancer monitoring

Single module sensing technology provider, Two Pore Guys, has announced that it is collaborating with oncologists at the University of California, San Francisco, to evaluate its handheld nanopore-based platform in the detection of cell-free, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) from patient liquid biopsies.

The study will focus on detecting the KRAS G12D mutation among ctDNAs obtained from patient blood and urine samples. If the study is successful, the device has the potential to improve the way we monitor patients for the recurrence of cancer from home on a daily basis.

Liquid biopsy is currently used to assist in treatment decision making in metastatic lung cancer. It is also an emerging approach to facilitate the diagnosis and potentially the monitoring of other cancers, offering the promise of less invasive testing of tumour DNA using an easily attainable biological sample, such as blood or urine.

Two Pore Guys handheld platform consists of a battery-operated reader device and disposable test strips containing reagents and solid-state nanopore chips that detect individual molecules, one by one.

Dan Heller, CEO of Two Pore Guys said: “2PG’s platform is ideal for applications like liquid biopsy, because it is portable, simple and inexpensive enough to be used by anyone, anywhere. Cancer recurrence is a constant battle, and treatment is a race against time,” said Dr. Ko, who is a Professor of Hematology/Oncology and a specialist in gastrointestinal cancer at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Centre. “The sooner we can detect a recurrence, the sooner we can change or augment a patient’s therapy and improve his or her chances of survival.”  

“We have high hopes for liquid biopsy as an important tool in the future of cancer treatment,” he added. “The ability to accurately monitor mutations using a simple and inexpensive device could improve the quality of care we can provide while significantly reducing healthcare costs, for example, by more quickly moving patients off expensive drugs that are no longer effective.”