EKF Diagnostics takes big step in cancer detection

2nd Jun 2014 08:38

Medical group EKF Diagnostics says a partnership in which it is involved has made a major step towards detecting cancer in blood.EKF said first results from its collaboration with German group Gilupi had successfully shown detection of gene mutations from as few as three or less isolated cells and from the blood of lung cancer patients.Mutations are associated with diseases such as cancer and the patient's response to treatment.The pair made the discovery using Gilupi's devices for isolating rare cells directly from a patient's bloodstream and EKF's PointMan DNA enrichment technology, which can determination the presence or absence of a mutation in DNA sequences.Gilupi's Chief Executive and co-founder Klaus Luecke said: "This is a major step forward for both companies and also for the future testing and monitoring of cancer patients. "The isolation and subsequent characterisation of low numbers of circulating tumour cells from the blood of cancer patients will become increasingly important."Shares in EKF rose 0.9p or 3.5% to 25.75p at 08:44 in London.PW