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New treatments for cancer have come a long way thanks to medical research. But early detection is still the key to saving lives. Now a new way of detecting colorectal cancer with just a simple blood test has been developed by Israeli MedTech company OncoRedox Ltd.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and traditional screening methods like colonoscopies that are invasive and expensive, or stool samples, both of which have low compliance rates, reported Israel21c. OncoRedox’s new system can detect colorectal cancer using AI powered technology that is fast, effective, and costs less than $10.
The OncoRedox system
This innovative platform for early cancer detection is based on an AI-powered electrochemical sensor that can generate a metabolic fingerprint of the patients reduction-oxidation or redux, according to a press release from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beersheva. This allows for accurate cancer detection from blood plasma.
“Cancer is built from a profile of 15 to 20 different molecules that change all the time,” Hadar Ben-Yoav OncoRedox cofounder and member of the department of biomedical engineering at BGU and head of its Nanobioelectronics Laboratory, said in the press release.
This sets OncoRedox apart from other methods of colorectal cancer detention. “Our method demonstrated 94 percent accuracy in proof-of-concept studies and provides a significant advantage over traditional tests,” said Ben-Yoav.
The Journey to OncoRedox
The research that produced the technology began at BGU more than 10-years-ago when Ben-Yoav’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, explained Israel21c. Her cancer was treated with a medication that had a high success rate, but the cancer recurred three years later.
He believed that there had to be a better way to diagnose and treat cancer. “To understand whether the cancer will come back or not, you actually have to look for a whole specific profile of molecules,” Ben-Yoav told Israel21c.
Ben-Yoav and cofounder Professor Gal Markel who heads the Davidoff Cancer Center at Rabin Medical Center — in partnership with BGU and Sheba Medical Center – began developing the concept that would become OncoRedox, seven years ago.
Their vision was of a home blood test that could be purchased at a pharmacy like a pregnancy or covid test where abnormal results could be followed up with a colonoscopy.
Ben-Yoav said that he hopes to receive FDA approval in the next two to three years and to have a market-ready product within five. The company also plans to adapt the technology to test for other types of cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases. This is welcome news because early detection means a better chance of successfully treating the disease and better post-diagnosis longevity.
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