AZ, MSKCC highlight challenges in broader use of liquid biopsy

At a meeting co-hosted by FDA and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), representatives from AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) pointed out challenges in extending the use of liquid biopsy tests to replace tissue biopsies to assess genomic alterations in cancer.

The Cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2, which AstraZeneca and Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) market, is the only liquid biopsy diagnostic FDA has approved. The PCR-based in vitro diagnostic test is approved to detect EGFR mutations, including T790M, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...