Geisinger Health and Johns Hopkins University File IPO Prospectus for Joint Liquid Biopsy Test Targeting Early Cancer Detection

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Geisinger Health and Johns Hopkins University have recently jointly developed a liquid biopsy assay. This method combines targeted analysis of circulating tumor DNA with multiple protein biomarkers, aiming to detect cancer in healthy individuals at an early stage.

Johns Hopkins University researcher Joshua Cohen participated in the initiative named “Cancer Quest.” At the Technology Genomics Biology Conference held on February 27, 2019, he stated, “For most cancers, early detection enables patients to receive timely treatment and offers a greater chance of cure; however, effective screening tests have not yet been developed for cancers such as pancreatic or ovarian cancer.”

According to Geisinger Health’s recent announcement, by March of this year, it had enrolled 10,000 female participants aged 65 to 75 with no personal history of cancer to provide blood samples for testing. Science magazine described the blood test used in this study a year ago; it detects mutations in 16 genes within cell-free DNA, assesses the levels of 11 protein markers, and evaluates samples from patients with eight different types of cancer at various stages as well as from healthy controls. The study showed that the test’s sensitivity varied across cancer types, with an overall sensitivity of 40% for Stage I cancers. Sensitivity was highest for ovarian and liver cancers and lowest for breast cancer. To date, the trial has progressed favorably, with only seven false positives among 812 healthy controls.

Cohen also stated that the research team at Johns Hopkins University has developed an algorithm capable of identifying the tissue of origin for cancer in patients with positive test results. However, performance varies across different cancer types; for instance, a leading prediction method achieves an 80% accuracy rate in detecting rectal cancer but shows lower accuracy for other cancers. In detection studies, blood samples initially testing positive will undergo additional testing for localization predictions. If the test indicates rectal cancer, the subject will need to undergo a colonoscopy; if the origin of the cancer cannot be localized, the subject will receive a PET-MRI/CT scan.

In an interview with ABC, Faucett, co-chair of the Geisinger Genetic Counseling Professional Committee, stated that because women pay more attention to health and medical information, the project only enrolled female participants in its research over the past year, but will gradually begin accepting male participants in the near future. To date, this testing has identified cancer in nine study participants, including cases of colorectal and ovarian cancer.

Geisinger is a comprehensive healthcare organization widely recognized for its innovative care models and pioneering use of electronic health records, with its flagship facility being the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. In 2013, during Cernostics Pathology’s Series B funding round, Geisinger Health invested $1.4 million in the company. In April 2018, Geisinger Health acquired Cape Urgent Care and rebranded it as the AtlantiCare Urgent Care Center.

(Compiled by Wang Shuijing)