- Griffith University has released data on BARD1 Life Sciences’ (BD1) SubB2M technology, showing 100 per cent specificity and sensitivity for detection of all stages of ovarian cancer
- BD1’s SubB2M is a protein that binds specifically to a sugar molecule called Neu5Gc, which is present on a range of cancers
- Researchers have engineered the SubB2M protein to specifically bind to Neu5Gc and have proven its ability to detect Neu5Gc in the bloodstream of cancer patients
- BD1 holds the exclusive worldwide license for the use of SubB2M to detect any cancer
- This data was collated to be presented at the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology group Conference 2021
- BARD1 Life Sciences shares are up 14.6 per cent, trading at 74.5 cents
Queensland’s Griffith University has released data on Australian diagnostics company BARD1 Life Sciences’ (BD1) SubB2M technology, showing it can be used to detect ovarian cancer.
The data released by Griffith University shows BD1’s SubB2M technology shows 100 per cent specificity and sensitivity for detection of ovarian cancer in all stages.
Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage, resulting in a poor prognosis with an overall five-year survival rate of 46 per cent. Ovarian is the leading cause of gynaecological cancer deaths worldwide, with around 295,000 new cases diagnosed and 185,000 deaths in 2018.
SubB2M is a protein that binds specifically to a sugar molecule called Neu5Gc, which is present on a range of cancers. In humans, the sugar molecule is only found on tumour cells and tumour-associated molecules, potentially making Neu5Gc a highly specific pan-cancer biomarker.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide and Griffith University have engineered the SubB2M protein to specifically bind to Neu5Gc and have proven its ability to detect Neu5Gc in the bloodstream of cancer patients.
“The SubB2M technology has proved to have remarkable sensitivity and specificity for detection of these aberrant sugar blood biomarkers in the case of ovarian cancer and we look forward to working with BARD1 to get this test into clinical use,” said Griffith University’s Professor Mike Jennings.
BD1 holds the exclusive worldwide license for the use of SubB2M to detect any cancer.
“Whilst this data is preliminary, the outstanding results indicate the high specificity and sensitivity of SubB2M for ovarian cancer monitoring and detection. This work underpins BARD1’s decision to license the technology and develop it for novel tests for breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers, as well as for ovarian cancer,” said BD1 CDO, Dr Peter French.
The data was collated to be presented at the Australia New Zealand Gynacological Oncology group Conference 2021.
The presentation was delivered by Griffith University’s Dr Lucy Shewell at the conference, entitled “Detection of N-glycolylneuraminic acid biomarkers in sera from patients with ovarian cancer using an engineered N- glycolylneuraminic acid-specific lectin SubB2M.”
Dr Shewell reported that serum from 47 patients with all stages of ovarian cancer had significantly elevated mean levels of Neu5Gc glycans, compared to 22 cancer-free individuals used as controls during the experiments.
During the presentation, she noted that detection of Neu5Gc-glycans using SubB2M has the potential to be used as a marker for the detection of early-stage ovarian cancer, as well as a tool for monitoring disease progression in late-stage cancer.
BARD1 Life Sciences shares are up 14.6 per cent, trading at 74.5 cents at 10:03 am AEDT.