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The likelihood of surviving five years or more after a lung cancer diagnosis is 27%.1 But if it is caught early, before spreading, the five-year survival rate jumps to 64%, and in some cases it is curable.1 Unfortunately, only 22% of lung cancer is diagnosed in the earliest stage of the disease.1 LUNGevity and Rising Tide for Clinical Cancer Research (RTCCR) are working to change this.
Annual chest CT scans for lung cancer screening are currently recommended for older people with a history of tobacco exposure. However, CT-based screening programs have been challenging to implement, and uptake has been slow.
An alternative screening approach that is garnering enthusiasm is based on the development of a simple blood test that detects DNA fragments shed from tumor cells into the bloodstream.
Several commercial and academic groups have been racing to develop blood tests for cancer screening based on this concept, and the field has made impressive progress. However, detection of early-stage lung cancers has remained particularly challenging, with only 20-40% of stage I disease being caught.
A key limitation for detecting small, early-stage tumors has been the extremely low concentration of DNA fragments bearing cancer-specific features (such as mutations) in the bloodstream.
LUNGevity and RTCCR are pleased to support co-investigators Abhijit Patel, MD, PhD, at Yale School of Medicine, and Steven Skates, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, as they develop a promising liquid biopsy technology that is sensitive enough to reliably detect early-stage lung cancer.
The researchers have developed a technology that can accurately measure cancer-specific alterations (such as hypermethylation) in DNA in the bloodstream.
Using predictive modeling, the team aims to develop an algorithm that tracks changes in a patient’s DNA over time rather than relying on just a single point.
If successful, this work would provide a sensitive and reliable blood test to detect lung cancer in its earliest stages and dramatically improve outcomes for people diagnosed with lung cancer.
- SEER 22 (Excluding IL/MA) 2014–2020, All Races, Both Sexes by SEER Combined Summary Stage. Lung and Bronchus Cancer — Cancer Stat Facts