Application:
- Worldwide, head and neck cancers are the sixth leading cancer group by incidence, with approximately 630,000 new patients diagnosed annually, resulting in more than 350,000 deaths every year.
- Oral cancer is one of the most common types of tumors in the head and neck, while squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) constitute more than 90% of all oral cancers. Oral SCCs are invasive lesions with a significant recurrence rate that frequently metastasize, where tongue tumors have the greatest tendency of all oral SCCs for metastasis to the neck.
- Various cancers, as well as specific cancer stages, exhibit a characteristic expression profile of specific sets of genes. Such a specific gene expression profile can lead to identifying with high accuracy oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and predicting possible lymphatic metastasis.
Our innovation:
Our technology is a diagnostic test based on genomic analysis, algorithmics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It is performed on tissue obtained from the biopsy of oral cavity cancer patients.
Our test measures the expression level of determined genes that are related to the spread of cancer through the lymphatic system.
Advantages:
- Improving the identification and prediction of oral cavity SCC: the test shows a significant improvement in the prediction of the development of oral tongue SCC stages compared to the presently accepted industry standard.
- Preventing unnecessary surgery: this innovative diagnostic tool may predict the necessity for the surgical removal of neck tumors and lesions in patients where oral cavity tumors have been diagnosed and will prevent up to 40% of the surgeries routinely performed in clinics today, even when there is no evidence of metastases. In the clinical study involving tongue cancer patients, the test’s gene recognition system predicted whether metastasis in the neck would occur, and these results were compared to the results of the surgery carried out on the patients. The results showed a high correlation between the predictions and the actual clinical conditions of the patients.
- Avoiding side effects: patients who have undergone life-threatening procedures like neck dissection, suffer from poor quality of life, and are exposed to significant side effects.
- Applicable to various indications: the tongue verified signature is viable to similar applications in other squamous cells –Lung, SCC (skin), Cervical cancers.
- Target for antibodies targeted therapy: the genes identified in the signature can be a target for antibodies targeted therapy.
Opportunity:
We are seeking collaboration with a diagnostics company interested in extending its pipeline with a ready-to-use diagnostic test for cancer patients.
