NanoString Introduces Novel Gene Expression Panel for Immuno-Oncology Research

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, has announced the introduction of a new highly multiplexed gene expression panel for the nCounter® Analysis System, the PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel. This novel panel will enable researchers to create profiles of the human immune response in all cancer types, potentially accelerating the discovery and development of drugs, therapies and predictive biomarker signatures for immunotherapy treatment response.

The growing field of Immuno-oncology, aimed at leveraging the body’s ability to generate an effective immune response against cancer, has seen a surge of progress in recent years. New discoveries, immunotherapy drugs, and promising ongoing clinical trials have intensified the focus on this area of cancer research. NanoString’s PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel is designed to provide researchers with a novel tool to help facilitate new advancements in key research areas including targeting of checkpoint blockades, development of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for T-cell therapy, and the identification of adjuvants for stimulating the immune response in the tumor microenvironment.

The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel includes a novel collection of genes and offers a unique way of profiling the immune response to cancer. The new gene expression panel comprises 770 genes, including more than 100 genes for the identification of 24 different immune cell types, 30 genes specific for the expression of recognized cancer antigens, genes involved with checkpoint blockade, and key immune pathway genes for both innate adaptive and humoral immune responses.

NanoString’s new Immune Profiling Panel for immuno-oncology research was developed in collaboration with worldwide leaders in the field of immuno-oncology, including Dr. Jérôme Galon, Research Director at INSERM Laboratory, Cordeliers Research Center in Paris, France. Dr. Galon is a leading cancer immunologist recognized for his numerous publications in the field of cancer and human tumor microenvironment, and his work with the worldwide Immunoscore task force.

Dr. Galon commented, “NanoString’s PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel is an exceptional collection of genes that encompasses the many characteristics of the immune response and will undoubtedly provide valuable insights for all types of cancer research. By studying gene expression patterns across immune cell types, cancer antigens, checkpoint blockades, and genes involved with both the innate and adaptive immune response, researchers will now be able to construct an in-depth profile for how the host immune system is responding to cancer.”

“The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel complements our recently launched PanCancer Pathways Panel and brings a new dimension of gene expression information to a field that has historically been focused on protein-based analytical methods, such as immunohistochemistry,” said Joseph Beechem, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research and Development at NanoString Technologies. “Our collaboration with Dr. Galon has greatly helped guide the development of this new panel that will enable researchers to bridge the gap between what drives tumor growth, and what attempts to control tumor growth, in order to promote a better understanding of immuno-oncology.”

The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel complements NanoString’s PanCancer Pathways Panel, which analyzes all of the key cancer pathways: PI3K, STAT, MAPK, TGFβ, Notch, Hedgehog, Wnt, Apoptosis, Cell Cycle, RAS, Chromatin Modification, Transcriptional Regulation and DNA Damage Control. The powerful combination of these two panels allows scientists to look both at the immune response to cancer as well as the impact cancer has on gene expression across all major cancer pathways, creating a combined collection of more than 1,300 unique cancer-related genes that can be tested in parallel. The panels can be used on all sample types supported by NanoString’s nCounter system including Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE), whole blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cell lysates.