ONCOblot test shows promise in early detection of malignant mesothelioma

MorNuCo Laboratories of West Lafayette, Indiana, and their ONCOblot® Test recently completed a retrospective clinical trial focusing on the early detection of malignant mesothelioma, with the exciting results that the ONCOblot® test detected a molecular marker that is indicative of the presence of mesothelioma, 4-10 years in advance of clinical symptoms appearing. MorNuCo Laboratories is elated to share these results with the public, as early detection is widely considered the corner stone of an effective strategy to reduce cancer-related deaths.

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive and almost uniformly fatal tumor caused primarily by exposure to asbestos. In this study, the serum presence of a mesothelioma-specific form of the ENOX2 protein (a recently identified marker of malignancy) was found within the serum of asbestos-exposed individuals an average of 6.2 years in advance of clinical symptoms by using the ONCOblot tissue of origin cancer detection test.

Serum samples that were collected from asbestos-exposed individuals prior to the development of mesothelioma as part of a cancer surveillance program were tested for ENOX2 protein presence to determine how long in advance of clinical symptoms that the mesothelioma-specific ENOX2 protein transcript variants could be detected.

The results of this study showed that two mesothelioma-specific ENOX2 protein transcript variants were detected in the serum of asbestos-exposed individuals 4-10 years prior to clinical diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma, an exciting sign of progress in the cancer detection field.

"The completion of this trial is an exciting new chapter for our work," says Nick Miner, Vice President of Business Development. "Although asbestos-induced mesothelioma is a very specific example of early detection, we are currently pursuing larger-scale clinical trials to investigate the utility of the ENOX2 protein marker to predict the onset of cancers of other tissues of origin as well." Miner continued.

Although the fight against cancer often appears to be an overwhelmingly intransigent problem, significant progress is being made regarding the development of additional tools for cancer detection, such as the ONCOblot Test.