AstraZeneca announced on Monday that it has entered into a collaboration with Netherlands-based QIAGEN to develop a non-invasive diagnostic test to identify non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who are suitable for treatment with IRESSA®.

IRESSA is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor that blocks the signals from the EGFR, which leads to tumour growth. EGFR is a protein found in abnormally high levels on the surface of many types of cancer cells, particularly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Using QIAGEN’s diagnostic test, doctors will be able to identify patients with the EGFR mutation, and therefore who might benefit most from treatment with IRESSA, through a blood test. Currently the main method of assessing EGFR mutation status involves the collection of tumour tissue by needle biopsy or during resection.

QIAGEN’s test uses a highly sensitive assay to detect EGFR mutations in the small fragments of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in plasma taken from patients’ blood samples. The test has demonstrated robust and reliable identification of EGFR mutation status using samples from the Phase IV IRESSA Follow Up Measure (IFUM) study.

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