AroCell announces a collaboration with the University Hospital of Pisa, to evaluate the AroCell TK 210 ELISA for Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) as a prognostic biomarker in subjects with liver cancer.

The aim of the study is to determine the prognostic value of TK1 in combination with imaging techniques to improve prognoses and monitoring in subjects with liver cancer. In the study TK1 protein levels will be assayed in serum samples collected from subjects with liver cancer, Hepatocarcinoma, prior to and during therapy and compared with the extent and speed of disease progression based on digital imaging.

The response rate to therapy in advanced cancer is very low, only 2-5%, but there is potential to improve on this by using more personalized therapy. The combination of digital imaging with circulating biomarkers (Radiomics) can aid in identifying early therapeutic response, relapse and monitoring subsequent therapy. TK1 may be particularly important here as it may provide an indication of the rate of cellular proliferation in the tumor, states the company.

An innovative approach

The study will be executed in collaboration with the Professor Ferruccio Bonino at the Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Italy.

“We are excited to work together with Professor Bonino,” says Michael Brobjer, CEO of AroCell. “His innovative approach to combining biomarker modalities could improve the outcome of patients with a significant disease”.

“We are very happy to cooperate with AroCell in this exciting project. The combination of a biomarker of cell proliferation (TK1) with digital imaging could provide important information on the aggressivity of the tumor and a new parameter of therapy response,” says Professor Bonino.