Source: biz.crast.net
Author: Shawn Johnson

An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States. (Credit: Creative Commons)

An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States. (Credit: Creative Commons)

An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States, which is expected to revolutionize mouth and throat cancer detection.

Based on technology approved as a “breakthrough device” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the saliva test can detect early signs of oral and throat cancer with more than 90 percent accuracy.

Due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools, these cancers are often not diagnosed until they reach advanced stages, resulting in low survival rates.

In a previous study, Maria Soledad Sosa of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Julio A. Sosa, now of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, led the study. Aguirre-Ghiso discovered that the ability of cancer cells to remain dormant is controlled by a protein called NR2F1. ,

This receptor protein can enter the cell nucleus and turn on or off several genes to activate a program that stops cancer cells from spreading. NR2F1 levels are usually low in primary tumors but increased in dormant disseminated cancer cells. NR2F1 protein levels then decrease once again when cancer cells begin to grow again and form recurrent or metastatic tumors.

“So we thought that activating NR2F1 using a small molecule could be an attractive clinical strategy to induce cancer cell quiescence and prevent recurrence and metastasis,” explains Aguirre-Ghiso.

In the new GEM study, Sosa and Aguirre-Ghiso’s teams used a computer-based screening approach to identify a drug, called C26, which activates NR2F1. The researchers found that treating patient-derived HNSCC cells with C26 increased NR2F1 levels and inhibited cell proliferation.

CancerDetect™, manufactured by Viome Life Sciences, brings unprecedented accuracy in early cancer detection and prevention as it is the only oral and throat cancer test to detect with 95% specificity and 90% sensitivity. Mouth and throat cancer is extremely difficult to detect. Until now, due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools it often remains undiagnosed until it reaches advanced stages, leading to low survival rates.

Only 28% of patients get an early diagnosis, and those who receive a late diagnosis have to deal with oral cancer for a longer period of time. (National Library of Medicine). Early detection directly increases the 5-year survival rate for oral cancer patients from 50% to 84%. With CancerDetect™, Viome has developed a much-needed aid in early stage cancer detection, leading to more successful treatment outcomes when confirmed by biopsy.

“Despite all the innovations in the healthcare landscape, mouth and throat cancer remains life-threatening and there are few options for its early detection,” said Naveen Jain, Founder and CEO, Viom Life Sciences.

“As an industry leader on a mission to identify and address the roots of chronic disease, we are committed to bringing to market clinically supported diagnostic solutions for cancer detection and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Have been working for years.

“With the launch of CancerDetect™ for mouth and throat cancer, we have achieved this goal and we plan to rapidly follow up with additional life-threatening chronic disease and cancer detection devices.” , he continued.

To develop more accurate diagnostic tools for cancer patients, Viome researchers began studying how the microbiome changed, a collection of all the microbes that naturally exist on and within our bodies, as well as their genes. . As a result of earlier research, people with oral or throat cancer have different oral flora than people without cancer.

CancerDetect™, manufactured by Viome Life Sciences, brings unprecedented accuracy in early cancer detection and prevention as it is the only oral and throat cancer test to detect with 95% specificity and 90% sensitivity. Mouth and throat cancer is extremely difficult to detect. Until now, due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools it often remains undiagnosed until it reaches advanced stages, leading to low survival rates.

Only 28% of patients get an early diagnosis, and those who receive a late diagnosis have to deal with oral cancer for a longer period of time. (National Library of Medicine). Early detection directly increases the 5-year survival rate for oral cancer patients from 50% to 84%. With CancerDetect™, Viome has developed a much-needed aid in early stage cancer detection, leading to more successful treatment outcomes when confirmed by biopsy.

“Despite all the innovations in the healthcare landscape, mouth and throat cancer remains life-threatening and there are few options for its early detection,” said Naveen Jain, Founder and CEO, Viom Life Sciences.

“As an industry leader on a mission to identify and address the roots of chronic disease, we are committed to bringing to market clinically supported diagnostic solutions for cancer detection and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Have been working for years.

“With the launch of CancerDetect™ for mouth and throat cancer, we have achieved this goal and we plan to rapidly follow up with additional life-threatening chronic disease and cancer detection devices.” , he continued.

To develop more accurate diagnostic tools for cancer patients, Viome researchers began studying how the microbiome changed, a collection of all the microbes that naturally exist on and within our bodies, as well as their genes. . As a result of earlier research, people with oral or throat cancer have different oral flora than people without cancer.

“We collected saliva samples from people aged 50 years or older, or adults who had a history of tobacco use – both oral and throat cancer,” said Guruduth Bavanar, head of discovery, AI and engineering at Viome. There were risk factors for. From each sample, we extracted genetic material from bacteria, fungi and skin cells.”

To train the machine-learning model, the scientists used genetic data from 945 samples, 80 of which came from people with oral cancer and 12 from people with throat cancer.

“A big advantage of machine learning is that the more data we collect, the more accurate the tools become,” Bavnar told reporters.

88 specific changes in gene expression were identified in people with oral and throat cancer, as well as 182 unique genetic features in their bacteria.

The researchers then tested their model with the remaining 230 study samples, 82 of which came from people with cancer.

CancerDetect™ – Oral & Throat is a first-of-its-kind test designed to empower consumers through advanced testing right at home. (Credit: Viom)

The tests correctly identified 90% of samples from people with cancer and 95% of samples from people without cancer, indicating a very low false negative or false positive rate.

Buy test online
“With CancerDetect, Viome has developed a much-needed aid in early-stage cancer detection, which will lead to more successful treatment outcomes when confirmed with biopsy,” Bavnar said.

People at high risk of mouth or throat cancer can now purchase the test online and receive results within two weeks after filling out a questionnaire with Viome.

“A telehealth provider reviews the information provided by the customer before actually ordering the test. The licensed healthcare provider will contact the customer when a positive result comes back and Viome Telehealth to ask any questions the customer may have about the test. You can also contact your partner,” Banawar explained.

According to the company, it will continue to seek FDA approval, which would allow the test to be covered by health insurance providers.

“Despite all the innovations in the healthcare landscape, mouth and throat cancer remains life-threatening and there are few options for its early detection,” said Naveen Jain, Founder and CEO, Viom Life Sciences.

“As an industry leader on a mission to identify and address the roots of chronic disease, we are committed to bringing to market clinically supported diagnostic solutions for cancer detection and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Have been working for for years”.

“With the launch of CancerDetect for mouth and throat cancer, we have achieved this goal and plan to rapidly follow it up with devices to detect additional life-threatening chronic diseases and cancers.”