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Proteomics International (ASX:PIQ) has popped as much as +6% today after reporting the “high accuracy” of its blood test for throat cancer.
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Specifically chasing out esophageal adenocarcinoma, Proteomics reports its PromarkerEso blood test showed 98.9% specificity in a clinical validation study. The condition is typically caused by acid reflux.
The study from which these claims are borne recruited 259 participants and was published in the journal Proteomes.
Now, the company expects commercialisation in Australia “shortly.”
The name of the blood test harks back to ‘biomarkers,’ which are proteins or other naturally occurring compounds in the human body that express themselves in higher levels when a cancer is present.
One well-known and simple example is that in some types of blood cancers, early detection can be spotted when certain immune cells start to proliferate above baseline averages.
In other instances, it can be more difficult, tracking specific proteins that may only spike in certain cancers attached to certain organs.
In this case, Proteomics is now intending to deliver such a product for a specific type of targeted throat cancer (esophageal adenocarcinoma).
Esophageal cancers, broadly, Proteomics relayed on Thursday, rank seventh in cancer-related mortality globally. Survival rates are, perhaps unsurprisingly for where the cancer originates, low. Less than 20% across a five-year span, and one study cites a “median survival time less than one year.”
Herein is the value prop of Proteomics’ news on Thursday – early detection offers more time for other treatments to potentially mitigate severity. That, and the blood test is less invasive than any kind of physical inspection of the oesophagus.
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“PromarkerEso has the potential to revolutionise how doctors manage the risk of esophageal cancer – offering a standard blood test that could reduce reliance on invasive procedures and improve early detection rates,” company chief Dr. Richard Lipscombe said.
PIQ last traded at 42cps.
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