SeekIn paves the way for cancer early detection in low- and middle-income countries

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Jun 16, 2023, 09:00 ET

OncoSeek^® is a revolutionary multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test developed by SeekIn and empowered by AI technology to significantly reduce the false positive rate compared to the conventional clinical method thus increasing the specificity from 56.9% to 92.9%. In all cancer types, the overall sensitivity of OncoSeek^® is 51.7%, resulting in 84.3% accuracy.

The overall accuracy of TOO prediction in the true positives is 66.8%, which may be supportive in the clinical diagnostic workup.

OncoSeek^® is affordable and accessible requiring nothing more than a blood draw at the screening sites, which makes it acceptable and sustainable in LMICs. OncoSeek^® received CE-IVD Mark approval in September, 2022.

SHENZHEN, China, June 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SeekIn Inc, a leader in blood-based cancer early detection and monitoring technology, today announced that a research article titled "A panel of seven protein tumor markers for effective and affordable multicancer early detection by artificial intelligence" has been published in eClinicalMedicine, a clinical journal published by The Lancet. This is a major breakthrough for SeekIn's multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests in the oncology field, and a high recognition of SeekIn's technical strength and research & development capabilities.

This study included nearly 10,000 participants [1959 cancer patients (20 cancer types) and 7423 healthy individuals] from China and the United States. One tube of peripheral blood from each participant was collected to detect seven specific proteins using a conventional clinical electrochemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer. After quantifying the protein tumor markers (PTMs), an algorithm named OncoSeek^® was established using artificial intelligence (AI) to distinguish cancer patients from non-cancer individuals by calculating the probability of cancer (POC) index based on the quantitative results of the seven PTMs and clinical information, such as gender and age, and to predict the possible affected tissue of origin (TOO) for those who have been detected with cancer signals in blood.

Many established cancer screening technologies are not suitable for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to cost, complexity, and reliance on extensive medical infrastructure. OncoSeek^® was created to address these issues. It is a MCED test based on the analysis of PTMs, which simultaneously detects the characteristic tumor markers for multiple cancers. The test achieved a sensitivity of 51.7% with a specificity of 92.9%, resulting in 84.3% accuracy, with 49.5% sensitivity in stage I and II patients. The sensitivities ranged from 37.1% to 77.6% for the detection of the nine common cancer types (breast, colorectum, liver, lung, lymphoma, esophagus, ovary, pancreas, and stomach), which account for ~59.2% of global cancer deaths annually.

By providing an affordable and effective screening tool, OncoSeek^®has the potential to save countless lives by detecting cancer at earlier stage. With OncoSeek^®, we are proud to have developed a MCED test that can help pave the way for cancer early detection in LMICs. Ultimately, our goal is to make this technology accessible to all, regardless of their location and income, to improve cancer detection and reduce cancer mortality rates globally.

Article link: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S2589537023002183

About OncoSeek^®

OncoSeek^® has been developed as a multiple cancer detection test that uses artificial intelligence to distinguish between cancer patients and non-cancer individuals by calculating the probability of cancer (POC) index based on the plasma levels of seven PTMs (i.e. AFP, CA125, CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, CEA, and CYFRA21-1), gender and age of the subjects. OncoSeek^® is a non-invasive, efficient, and cost-effective approach for multi-cancer early detection (MCED). OncoSeek^®received CE-IVD Mark approval in September, 2022.

About SeekIn

SeekIn Inc is a biotech company founded in early 2018 in Shenzhen, China, focusing on blood-based pan-cancer early detection utilizing next-generation sequencing and artificial intelligence. Since its creation, SeekIn has been committed to providing cutting-edge and cost-effective solutions for cancer early detection, postoperative recurrence monitoring, and treatment response evaluation. SeekIn also developed novel molecular tests for leukemia patients. Its cancer early detection technology has also successfully been applied to canines. With its proprietary technical advances, SeekIn has launched a number of research and clinical studies in collaboration with top-tier hospitals in China. SeekIn envisions that, by leading a new norm for cancer early detection, the clinical outcome of mid-/late-stage cancer patients can be reversed and the cancer mortality rate can be reduced by 15%. For more information about SeekIn's cutting-edge technologies and products, visit www.seekincancer.com.

SOURCE SeekIn Inc