Fighting Cancer with Early Detection
Written by: Chris Hibberd , CEO, Nucleix
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 130,000 American die of lung cancer each year.*
It is very likely that you know someone who has been impacted by this disease, and though many physicians, researchers and biotech companies are working towards a cure, the reality is that lung cancer currently remains a leading cause of death from cancer globally, due to its high incidence and late-stage diagnosis.
With approximately 236,000 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed each year*, there is significant progress still to be made, including the need to detect cancer early, which would improve treatment options and thus, patient outcomes. Most patients are diagnosed with late-stage cancer, though research has shown that five-year survival rates are up to 10 times greater when disease is detected early.
While most advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment have historically focused on the disease at its later stages - fighting cancer by early detection is core to Nucleix’s mission. We are doing this by advancing Lung EpiCheck, a highly sensitive, methylation-based blood assay for the early detection of lung cancer. The test analyzes subtle, disease-specific changes in DNA methylation markers to catch cancer early when treatment can be most effective.
The mission of this company, and the work we are doing to detect cancer early is incredibly meaningful to me. As many of you have experienced, people in our lives have also been exposed to this disease, making our efforts to advance Nucleix’s EpiCheck platform even more personal.
The greatest challenge in looking at early-stage cancer is to separate a faint signal from considerable background noise. It is like trying to listen for a whisper in a crowded room. We are focused on early detection of lung cancer through minimizing sample loss and background noise, to identify minute cancer epigenetic signals with greater sensitivity.
We are proud of the work that’s been accomplished thus far, especially as we mark Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November. We strive to continue making progress in our lung cancer program, to advance tests that are designed to be highly sensitive, easily deployed and cost effective.
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For anyone that has been impacted by lung cancer, I am inspired to continue to develop and advance new technology like Lung EpiCheck to give you and your loved ones hope - hope that new diagnostics will make early cancer detection easier. As I look ahead, I am also hopeful that even more significant changes are on the horizon – changes that will improve cancer research, treatment and screening guidelines – to create a new path forward in leveraging technology that identifies even the most minute traces of disease.
Liquid biopsies hold the promise of detecting cancer at an earlier stage when it is possibly curable. Dr. Gerard Silvestri, Professor of Medicine and Lung Cancer, and Pulmonologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, shared that advancing technology to diagnose cancer early is important because, “rather than waiting until the cancer gets large enough that it's in advanced stage, lung cancer screening is a service that we provide to detect cancer at an earlier stage when it's more curable.”
To observe Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we are partnering with physicians to raise awareness about the importance of lung cancer screening and early diagnosis. If you are seeking ways to get involved, consider learning more about The White Ribbon Project, an organization that is working to change the public’s perception about lung cancer. As they say, “anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.” That is why each and every day at Nucleix, we continue to listen for that whisper in a crowded room, because we know it can mean the difference between life and death.
-Learn more about The White Ribbon Project.
-Watch a video featuring commentary about the importance of lung cancer screening from Dr. Gerard Silvestri.