滨苍迟别谤痴别苍苍听叠颈辞厂肠颈别苍肠别蝉鈥櫶V.O.C.A.L. trial听and GRAIL鈥檚听Galleri trial听are underway, to see听how well听their respective blood tests can detect various types of cancer prior to the appearance of symptoms. Earlier diagnosis听leads to a higher survival rate.听听听
The blood tests have fundamental differences, but neither is superior to the other. The approaches are complementary, said Aldo听Carrascoso, the Filipino co-founder of听InterVenn听BioSciences, adding that tackling cancer is a 鈥渧ery hard鈥 field that should have more attention than it is getting now.听听听听
鈥淭he more weapons we have in the fight [against cancer], the more chances we have of winning it,鈥 Mr.听Carrascoso听told听大象传媒听in a Zoom call.听听
There is an attendant responsibility for companies developing screening tests, he added.听听
Screening tests need to have a 99% specificity, or the ability to definitively state that an individual is not sick, to be acceptable in clinical literature.听听
Tests that are less than 99% sensitive will end up overtreating patients who 鈥 鈥渇reaked out鈥 by their results 鈥 will push for unnecessary diagnostic tests such as MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging). This overtreatment will overwhelm healthcare systems in the process.听听
鈥淭here are implications to everything,鈥 said Mr.听Carrascoso. 鈥淓arly detection is only as good as you can [rely on it].鈥澨听
The InterVenn founder compared听GRAIL鈥檚听Galleri test with 鈥渓ooking for a needle in the haystack.鈥听
听detects pieces of an individual鈥檚 DNA in the bloodstream that have been released from cancer cells.听听听
(Galleri鈥檚听genomic approach is similar to that of Guardant360 and听Signatera, two cancer-detecting blood tests that received, respectively, approval and 鈥淏reakthrough Device鈥 designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.)听
鈥淥ne-tenth of 1% of cells shed tumor DNA,鈥 said Mr.听Carrascoso, said of听the genomic approach.听听
In contrast,听InterVenn听employs glycobiology听(the study of glycans or carbohydrates)听combined听with deep machine learning and instrumentation.听听
鈥淓ighty percent of you is glycosylate [or proteins combined with sugar] surrounded by these sugar structures,鈥 Mr.听Carrascoso听said. 鈥淲hen you measure them, you can see a very stark contrast between听yung听dami听ng听[the amount of] glycosylation and the progression of the disease.鈥澨听
In听, the more glycans a woman has, the higher the probability she has ovarian cancer. The higher the probability too that the further along she is in the disease.听听
InterVenn听BioSciences听says it can now detect more than 50 cancers through its artificial intelligence-supported work with glycoproteins.听听
This includes nasopharyngeal cancer, which it predicted with听.听听
The company鈥檚 technology, according to Mr.听Carrascoso, shows the entire movie of a disease as compared to only a snapshot of it. It can also detect COVID-19, and can predict serious cases versus cases that听can be allowed home care.听听
鈥淭he [coronavirus鈥橾 spike protein is a glycoprotein, and we were able to see glycosylation patterns together with our multiple collaborators,鈥 he said. More information about this development will be released in a paper with Standford University at a yet unannounced date.听听
An upcoming and expanded听InterVenn听trial for cancer will also be announced at听听in January 2022.听听
鈥淚t鈥檚 like the听Galleri听test but more specific,鈥 Mr.听Carrascoso听said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e developing very specific signatures for very specific cases.鈥 鈥斕Patricia B. Mirasol听听听
