Nucleix Announces Positive Results In Study Detecting Lung Cancer

By NoCamels Team September 06, 2018 2 minutes

Lung cancer cell dividing. The two daughter cells are only held together by a very thin bridge of cytoplasm. Scanning electron micrograph. Photo by Wellcome Images

Israeli cancer detection company Nucleix has announced positive results from a clinical study evaluating its cutting-edge Lung EpiCheck blood test for early detection of lung cancer.

The Lung EpiCheck blood test is based on a proprietary molecular biomarker technology, which combines new biochemical assays and sophisticated algorithms. The technology is based on identification and analysis of subtle changes in DNA methylation patterns, which is a powerful tool for distinguishing between cancer and healthy cells and thus for detection of tumors in the body.

During the study, blood was collected from 20 centers and three biobanks in Europe and Israel. The samples were then used for detection of lung cancer using Nucleix’s Lung EpiCheck blood test. In the non-small-cell lung carinoma group, the most prevalent type of lung cancer which affects 85 percent of lung cancer patients, the blood test was able to identify about 70 percent of patients, with a correct identification of 59 percent of stage I patients, 77 percent of stage II patients, 76 percent of stage III patients, and 83 percent of stage IV patients.

In the small cell lung cancer group, Lung EpiCheck was able to identify 92 percent of the patients correctly.

“Screening is…necessary in order to identify lung cancer at early, operable, stages for the entire at-risk population so currently, not only CT screening but also methods of molecular screening are being tested,” Prof. Mina Gaga, president of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and a lead investigator in the study, said in a statement. “I am therefore very encouraged with the results of this study, showing that EpiCheck has the ability to identify both non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer at early stages, with a high level of sensitivity and specificity.”

“We are very excited to present the best published clinically validated results of a blood test for the early detection of lung cancer,” said Opher Shapira, the CEO of Nucleix. “Furthermore, these results were validated prospectively in an independent cohort.”

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide due to the high incidence of the disease, and the low rate of diagnosis at early and more curable stages,” Prof. Gaga adds. “Clearly, we must establish screening programs for lung cancer worldwide.”

The results will be presented in a presentation at the IASLC 19^th World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, to take place on September 22 to 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada.