A simple blood test that can aid physicians in risk assessment and the early detection of lung cancer may significantly improve the prognosis for lung cancer patients.
The announcement of this medical breakthrough was made earlier this week by Oncimmune LLC, the maker of EarlyCDT-Lung™. Oncimmune reported that validation study results demonstrated the diagnostic and economic benefits of a standardized and reproducible autoantibody laboratory test (AABT).
EarlyCDT-Lung is priced below a CT (computed tomography) scan. As a simple blood test, it eliminates radiation exposure from imaging screening techniques. High-risk individuals, such as long-term smokers and ex-smokers between the ages of 40 and 75, are candidates for the test. People with other risk factors, such as environmental exposures and extensive exposure to secondary smoke, also are candidates for the test.
According to the Lung Cancer Foundation, lung cancer is responsible for more deaths than the combination of breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney and melanoma cancers.
Results of Lung Cancer Studies
In a company announcement, Oncimmune disclosed that studies were completed with 573 patients known to have lung cancer. They were matched against patients who didn’t have lung cancer but who shared the same age, sex and smoking history. The test detected 40 percent of lung cancers, including early stages of the disease (Stages I and II).
The overall accuracy of the test, according to Oncimmune, is greater than 88 percent, which compares favorably with other tests that include mammography in younger women. In the case of lung cancer, EarlyCDT-Lung performance is at least twice as good as CT. Study findings suggest that the autoantibody test is not influenced by sex, ethnicity and geographic location of patients, or the presence of benign autoimmune diseases.
According to the American Cancer Society, a lung cancer patient's best chance of survival is early detection. EarlyCDT-Lung has the potential to identify the very early stages of lung cancer when treatment can be most successful.
"I am impressed with the precision and reliability this test shows in studies involving hundreds of cancer patients and controls,” stated William C. Wood, M.D., in the Oncimmune announcement. Dr. Wood is Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine.
“It has been known for some time that autoantibodies are sensitive early indicators of cancer,” added Dr. Wood. “EarlyCDT-Lung allows testing people at high risk for lung cancer in order to identify a group who may already have occult, curable tumors on the basis of a simple positive result."
New Tests for Other Cancers
During 2009, Oncimmune launched its EarlyCDT-Lung test to a limited number of office-based physicians in the mid-west and southeast sections of the U.S. Nearly 500 physicians in more than 80 practices offer EarlyCDT-Lung to test high-risk patients.
Further research is underway to investigate the most beneficial clinical use of the test. Other tests for breast, ovarian, esophagogastric, colon and liver cancers are planned. Learn more about the test from Oncimmune.
Oncimmune (USA) LLC was founded during 2006 and is considered an industry leader in early cancer detection. The company's mission is to develop early cancer detection tests to identify more than 90 percent of solid-tumor cancers. These cancers make up 70 percent of all cancers and include lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, stomach, pancreatic and ovarian cancers.
Mike Virgintino - Mike Virgintino is a marketing communications executive who has directed corporate, nonprofit and product branding initiatives that rely ...
