Press Release | Feb. 22, 2022

Sysmex Inostics Introduces CLIA-Validated Highly Sensitive HNSCC-SEQ Testing Services for Head and Neck Cancer at the 2022 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference

Sysmex Inostics, a global leader in the liquid biopsy revolution for oncology, will introduce HNSCC-SEQ, a highly sensitive Plasma-Safe-SeqS and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) assay service for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), at the annual 2022 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference being held Monday, February 21st through Wednesday, February 23rd in San Diego, California. The assay has a turn-around-time of 7-10 days and is available to researchers and clinicians.

Presenting Poster of Clinical Trial Findings at 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium

Baltimore, MD, February 22, 2022 – Sysmex Inostics, a global leader in the liquid biopsy revolution for oncology, will introduce HNSCC-SEQ, a highly sensitive Plasma-Safe-SeqS and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) assay service for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), at the annual 2022 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference being held Monday, February 21st through Wednesday, February 23rd in San Diego, California. The assay has a turn-around-time of 7-10 days and is available to researchers and clinicians.

Sysmex Inostics senior director of medical affairs, Dr. Fred Jones stated, “We see a huge opportunity for researchers and clinicians with our HNSCC-SEQ and HPV-SEQ assays being used in tandem to appropriately identify patients’ tumor mutational drivers.” Jones added, “We know the human papillomavirus (HPV) fuels a growing percentage of head and neck cancers, but there is also an unmet need to track HNSCC tumors via circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) that are HPV-negative – that’s where HNSCC-SEQ comes in. This HNSCC panel helps researchers and clinicians identify patients quickly and accurately for the appropriate therapy and avoiding over-treatment.”

HNSCC develop from the mucosal tissue in the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx and are the most common malignancies that arise in the head and neck regions.¹ HNSCC-SEQ was designed for HPV-negative patients and can be used to detect novel therapeutic targets and frequently occurring driver mutations for treatment response monitoring. HNSCC-SEQ delivers high-sensitivity mutation detection in HNSCC with a limit of detection of 0.05% MAF.²

HNSCC-SEQ can identify head and neck cancer mutational drivers from the genes: CDKN2A, EGFR, ERBB2, FGFR3, HRAS, KRAS, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, PTEN, and TP53, many of which are actively being pursued as therapeutic targets.³

Dr. Jones will discuss how Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology, including HNSCC-SEQ, can aid cancer drug development, treatment guidance and monitoring, in addition to post-treatment recurrence monitoring during the 2022 Molecular Medicine Tri- Conference’s C4B- Clinical Biomarkers & Companion Diagnostics presentation track in session room Indigo 206 on Tuesday, February 22nd at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. More information about the presentation can be viewed here.

2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium

Additionally, Dr. Ari Rosenberg, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago will present findings from his study using Sysmex Inostics HPV-SEQ test at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium being held February 24th through 26th in Phoenix, Arizona. The poster titled ‘Dynamic changes of cell-free HPV DNA in locoregional viral-associated oropharyngeal cancer receiving response-adaptive treatment’ will be presented Thursday, February 24th. More information can be viewed here.

HNSCC-SEQ and HPV-SEQ are available as a testing service provided by the Sysmex Inostics CLIA lab in Baltimore. MD.

About Sysmex Inostics

Sysmex Inostics, Inc., a US-based Sysmex Corporation subsidiary, empowers discoveries in oncology by providing investigators with ultra-sensitive, quantitative, and cost-effective CLIA-validated liquid biopsy services.

Since 2008, Sysmex Inostics has provided leading Pharma companies custom liquid biopsy assay services, first OncoBEAM™ and now Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology, to support real-time therapy selection and targeted-mutational monitoring during and after treatment throughout the clinical trial process.

Developed by experts at Johns Hopkins with the philosophy of “no molecule left behind,” Sysmex Inostics Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology has robust detection as low as 0.03% allele frequency (for input of 20,000 genomic equivalents) without sacrificing specificity. The venerable OncoBEAM™ digital PCR cell-free DNA (cfDNA) technology has been employed in hundreds of pivotal studies, publications, and numerous drug discoveries in oncology. Plasma-Safe-SeqS NGS technology, introduced in 2019, is currently being used in various clinical studies.

In July 2021, Sysmex Corporation announced a global strategic alliance with QIAGEN to expedite clinical trial timelines and CDx development by uniting QIAGEN’s commercial and regulatory expertise with the liquid biopsy scientific rigor and knowledge of Sysmex Inostics.

Sysmex Inostics offers Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology services in its CLIA-certified laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information, refer to www.sysmex-inostics.com or email info@sysmex-inostics.com.

Contact:
Tracy Vandenbroek Director, Marketing Sysmex Inostics
+1.512.791.2899
vandenbroek.tracy@sysmex-inostics.com

References

1. Stein, A. P. et al. (2015) Prevalence of human papillomavirus in oropharyngeal cancer: a systematic review. Cancer J. 21, 138-146.
2. Internal validation data, Sysmex Inostics, Inc.
3. Jiang X, Ye J, Dong Z, Hu S, Xiao M. Novel genetic alterations and their impact on target therapy response in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Manag Res. 2019;11:1321-1336. Published 2019 Feb 8. doi:10.2147/CMAR.S187780