Whole Genome Doubling as a Cancer Prognostic Marker

Value Proposition

• Broad Applicability: The technology effectively detects multiple different cancer types, including glioblastoma, melanoma, and adenocarcinoma. 
• Simple Methodology: Not reliant on expensive instruments or technology. Most diagnostic labs already possess all the required materials and instruments. 
• Earlier Detection: The technology can detect cancer in the earliest stages of the disease, even before tumor appearance.
• Unbiased Readout: Does not require visual interpretation by a pathologist, streamlining workflows and reducing incorrect diagnoses. 
• Prognostic Ability: The technology may be able to quantify the progression of the disease. 

Unmet Need

• Cancer affects millions of patients in the United States, with tissue biopsy being the gold standard for diagnosis. Nearly 10 million biopsies are performed in the United States annually. 
• Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining, the most common biopsy analysis method, is universally applicable across tissue and cancer types. However, it requires a trained pathologist to evaluate and grade tumors by eye. 
• This reliance on visual assessment leads to variability in tumor assessment, with a potential for false negative diagnoses. 
• Therefore, there is a strong unmet need for a universal, unbiased method for cancer diagnosis and prognosis that can detect cancer at all stages of the disease. 

Technology Description

• The disclosed technology proposes a novel method for early cancer diagnosis across cancer types. 
• This method utilizes either flow cytometry or fluorescence microscopy to quantify both cellular DNA content and the presence of a cell cycle dependent protein.
• Individually, these markers are not diagnostic. However, co-signal from these markers correlates strongly with multiple cancer types.

Stage of Development

• Successful proof of concept experiments in cell culture.
• The technology has not yet been applied to patient samples.

Data Availability 

• Data available upon request. 

Publication

• N/A