SEATTLE, April 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced the launch of the Breast Cancer 360™ (BC 360) research panel. The BC 360 Panel provides a unique 360 degree view of the tumor, microenvironment and immune response. The 770 gene expression panel includes comprehensive and expertly curated content across important breast cancer pathways and contains validated and novel signatures including NanoString’s PAM50 signature for breast cancer subtyping as well as the Tumor Inflammation Signature for determining whether a tumor is inflamed (“hot”) or non-inflamed (“cold”). The BC360 Panel is part of an expanding portfolio of comprehensive cancer research panels for the growing field of translational research and signature development.

“Breast cancer is a complex disease with many distinct subtypes, each having its own unique biology. While cancer research and drug development have historically focused on understanding the biology of the tumor itself, the field is moving toward a more holistic approach that goes beyond the tumor to examine the role that the tumor microenvironment and host immune response play,” said Alessandra Cesano, NanoString’s chief medical officer. “We created the Breast Cancer 360 Panel to anticipate the needs of translational researchers in their quest to understand the implications of heterogeneity in breast cancer for drug development and patient management.”

The nCounter™ BC 360 Panel and data analysis service categorize disease heterogeneity using 24 biological signatures including  the foundational PAM50 signature for breast cancer intrinsic subtyping, breast cancer receptor signaling, measures of DNA damage repair deficiency, inhibitory immune signaling and immune cell population abundance. The Panel provides an easy-to-use workflow that allows researchers to go from sample-to-data in 24 hours with less than 30 minutes of hands-on time. The BC 360 Panel is the second in a series of comprehensive cancer research panels, following the launch of the PanCancer Immuno-Oncology (IO) 360™ Panel in the fall of 2017.

The PanCancer IO360 panel consists of 770 genes and is designed to characterize mechanisms of tumor immune evasion and identify targetable therapeutic pathways by leveraging several gene signatures to describe key biological processes. The panel is designed around the Tumor Inflammation Signature (TIS), an 18 gene signature which measures the presence or absence of a peripherally suppressed adaptive immune response within the tumor that enriches for patient response to a variety of  different cancer immunotherapies (Warren & Cesano https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29393888).

To learn more about the use of NanoString’s 360 series panels in translational research and signature development, please join NanoString for a Spotlight Theatre presentation at 2018 meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research to be held April 14 – 18, in Chicago, Illinois. The program will feature Professor Karen Leroy MD, Ph.D., Cochin Research Institute, CERTIM, describing Dr. Leroy’s work with the IO 360 panel in a CERTIM pan-cancer study to identify predictive signatures for anti-PD1 treatment benefit.

Date and Time: Monday, 16 April, 10:00am -11:00am CT

Location: Spotlight Theatre A, Hall A, McCormick Place South

Seminar Title: Powering Precision Oncology Research: Developing gene expression signatures and high plex Digital Spatial Profiling Technology

Speakers:

David Rimm, MD, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine

Karen Leroy, MD, Ph.D., Universite Paris Descartes

Joseph Beechem Ph.D., NanoString Technologies

The BC 360 Panel and the IO 360 Panel are for research use only and are not for use in diagnostic procedures.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.
NanoString Technologies provides life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products. The company's nCounter® Analysis System has been employed in life sciences research since it was first introduced in 2008 and has been cited in more than 1,900 peer-reviewed publications. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision, facilitating a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery and validation. The company's technology is also being used in diagnostics. The Prosigna® Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay together with the nCounter Dx Analysis System is FDA 510(k) cleared for use as a prognostic indicator for distant recurrence of breast cancer. In addition, the company collaborates with biopharmaceutical companies in the development of companion diagnostic tests for various cancer therapies, helping to realize the promise of precision oncology.

For more information, please visit www.nanostring.com.

NanoString, NanoString Technologies, the NanoString logo, Breast Cancer 360, PanCancer Immuno-Oncology 360, nCounter and Prosigna are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc. in various jurisdictions.

Contact:

Doug Farrell
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
dfarrell@nanostring.com
Phone: 206-602-1768

Source: NanoString Technologies, Inc.