CorePath announced a partnership with U.K.-based diagnostics developer Cizzle Biotechnology to develop and offer a proprietary early-stage lung cancer blood test for the U.S.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers, combined.

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for lung cancer in the United States for 2022 are as follows:

  • About 236,740 new cases of lung cancer (117,910 in men and 118,830 in women) annually.*
  • About 130,180 deaths from lung cancer (68,820 in men and 61,360 in women) every year.*
  • Currently, there are no simple specific blood tests to detect lung cancer early when targeted interventions can improve timely access to cancer care and save lives. Yet it is estimated that about eight million Americans qualify as high risk for lung cancer and are recommended to receive annual screening with low-dose ­­­­­CT scans and if half of these high risk individuals were screened, over 12,000 lung cancer deaths could be prevented.**


“As a board-certified hematopathologist and molecular geneticist; diagnosing cancer is hurting especially when cancer has already metastasized in patients. While efforts are underway to find actional genetic mutations to target treatment and improve survival; early detection and intervention are key to patients’ long-term survival and cure,” says Aamir Ehsan, MD, CEO and medical director of CorePath. “The agreement with Cizzle Biotechnology represents a significant opportunity to provide early and cost-effective lung cancer detection via a simple and quick blood test which will result in significant cost savings downstream, avoiding expensive treatment, hospital admissions and ultimately saving lives.”

CorePath is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited laboratory headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company offers the ability to provid immunohistochemistry, cancer genetics, and multicolor flow cytometry services at one location.

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA and a major health problem globally. This is because for many, detection of lung cancer only happens when it has become symptomatic and therefore more advanced, meaning 5-year survival rates are poor,” saysAllan Syms, executive chairman of Cizzle Biotechnology. “The Company’s CIZ1B biomarker to detect early-stage lung cancer could represent a major breakthrough and we now have the opportunity to bring the benefits of this test to such an important market. We are delighted to be partnering with CorePath Laboratories who bring the expert knowledge and market reach to help develop our biomarker into a certified test that can be made available to patients and healthcare providers throughout the USA.”

References
* https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

**Cheung LC, Katki HA, Chaturvedi AK, Jemal A, Berg CD. Preventing Lung Cancer Mortality by Computed Tomography Screening: The Effect of Risk-Based Versus U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Eligibility Criteria, 2005–2015. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2018; 168(3):229-32. doi:10.7326/M17-2067.