Pan-cancer early detection study of 10,000 people starts to help multi-dimensional liquid biopsy technology

Recently, the pan-cancer early detection research "PRESCIENT" led by the National Cancer Center was officially launched
.

It should be noted that this study is the first prospective multi-omics study of pan-cancer early detection based on liquid biopsy in China, which is worthy of attention

In September 2020, the launch meeting of the Ministry of Science and Technology's key special "Malignant Tumor Screening and Early Diagnosis Liquid Biopsy Technology Research and Evaluation Research" project kick-off meeting was held in Beijing.
The project intends to focus on breakthroughs in China's high-incidence malignant tumor screening, early diagnosis and early treatment of liquid biopsy key technologies , To build a highly sensitive, highly specific, efficient and economical liquid biopsy early diagnosis technology system for malignant tumors, and develop screening/early diagnosis kits with completely independent intellectual property rights
.

The recently launched "PRESCIENT" research is based on the above-mentioned national key research and development project
.

It is reported that the special project will verify its effectiveness in a multi-center prospective cohort of lung cancer screening in 20 provinces and 120,000 community high-risk populations in 20 provinces across the country; for digestive system cancers, it will rely on the early cancers of more than 100,000 people in the city and the Huai River Basin.

Current status of early diagnosis and screening of domestic tumors

At present, most of the early tumor screening products of domestic genetic testing companies are in the research and development stage, and it still takes time to land
.

Clinically, tumor detection methods mainly include tissue biopsy, imaging examination and liquid biopsy

The achievements of early-developing companies in the industry are focused on the early screening of single cancer types such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, etc.
, and they are clinical-level genetic testing for existing tumor patients, which has not been seen in the industry.
The head company has launched early screening products for multiple cancers, and only a few single cancer early screenings, such as stool testing for bowel cancer, have obtained approval for auxiliary diagnosis
.

Taking bowel cancer with a high incidence rate in China as an example, the screening methods currently used include non-invasive screening such as stool occult blood test, questionnaire survey, and invasive screening methods such as colonoscopy
.

Among them, the former is widely used in China, but the sensitivity and specificity of this method are far from the requirements of screening, and false positive and false negative patients are prone to appear; the latter is more accurate in screening, but in view of the patients Poor experience and therefore low screening rate

       These situations reflect the bottleneck constraints in the field of early diagnosis and early screening of domestic tumors, including the lack of existing technical means, lack of new technologies such as liquid biopsy, and the lack of malignant tumor screening and early diagnosis reagents with independent intellectual property rights in the clinical application market.
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The general trend of tumor screening technology development

       Liquid biopsy is to diagnose diseases such as cancer through blood or urine, and it can capture other cells or DNA that enter the blood or urine
.

Compared with traditional imaging or others, liquid biopsy can detect early tumor markers non-invasively, timely and sensitively to achieve the results of early cancer screening.

       The emergence of liquid biopsy technology can solve the difficulties of clinical sampling, meet the clinical needs of high-frequency monitoring of patients, and has the advantages of low cost compared with needle biopsy
.

This technology represents a general trend in the development of early tumor screening technology, and is also expected to be applied to dynamic monitoring of tumor patients and personalized medication guidance

The significance of "PRESCIENT" research

       As a general trend in the development of early tumor screening technology, there are three different stages in the research and development of liquid biopsy early cancer screening, namely the breakthrough of early cancer markers, prospective studies to further validate the markers, and finally large-scale application in humans Testimony of value
.

       The "PRESCIENT" study is based on the liquid biopsy multi-omics technology.
It is estimated that 11879 subjects will be included, covering 22 cancer types.
These cancer types account for about 88% of the number of new cancer cases and 93% of the mortality rate in China
.

This research will promote the development of early screening and early diagnosis technology for pan-cancer species in China, reveal the differences in the molecular characteristics of cancer patients with different etiologies and pathologies, explore multi-dimensional liquid biopsy technology, and lay the foundation for the scientific research and clinical application of pan-cancer species early detection technology