Exact Sciences announces research results

Exact Sciences

New research from Exact Sciences shows screening for multiple cancer indicators at the same time can improve detection in earlier stages of the disease.

That’s according to Dr. Tom Beer, chief medical officer and vice president multi-cancer early detection for the Madison-based cancer diagnostics company. A recent release from Exact Sciences details results from a validation study presented during a convention of the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Beer notes this approach can help clinicians find cancer in its first two stages, when treatments are typically much more effective.

“This is a major step forward in our mission to detect cancer earlier before signs and symptoms appear,” he said in the release.

The biomarkers explored in the study include mutations, signature proteins and more. By analyzing them together, the company says this diagnostic approach provided encouraging results. The study focused on cancers from 15 organ sites, including 11 different organ sites with no current recommended screening option, the release shows.

The research is linked to Exact Sciences’ efforts to develop a “multi-cancer early detection” blood test, which would be used along with other screening tools.

Anne Marie Lennon, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine and director of its Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, says the potential of this type of blood test is “extremely exciting.” The indicators analyzed in the study were identified through partnerships with Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic, the release shows.

“Robust studies like this one are important in understanding the potential effectiveness of a multi-biomarker approach to MCED,” Lennon said in the release. “This study shows encouraging signs that cancers, including early-stage cancers, can be detected, providing us the opportunity to improve patient outcomes by treating the disease when it is typically most responsive to therapy.”

See more on the study results here: https://investor.exactsciences.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release-details/2022/Exact-Sciences-Demonstrates-Power-of-Multi-Cancer-Early-Detection-Approach-with-Data-Presentation-at-the-2022-European-Society-for-Medical-Oncology-Congress/default.aspx