• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, October 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Results of early-stage liver cancer detection using liquid biopsy published in PNAS

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 12, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Highlights:

  • Genetron Health (Beijing) Co. Ltd and National Cancer Center/ Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences published the promising results of their liver cancer early screening study using cell free DNA and protein biomarkers.
  • This product for screening HCC in at-risk populations, will be further validated and then available for use.
  • This methodology is expected to be applied in early screening of other cancer types.

March 12th, 2019, Beijing – Today, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the results of a pilot study for early detection of liver cancer in a cohort of HBV carriers, who are at risk for developing this disease. This screening technology, known as HCCscreen, relies on detecting a combination of tumor-specific mutations in cell free DNA (cfDNA) and protein markers. This work was a collaborative effort between National Cancer Center/ Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Genetron Health (Beijing) Co. Ltd (Genetron). Based on these promising results, assays such as this, after rigorous clinical validation, could be developed into an application for the detection of early-stage liver cancer.

The HCCscreen assay developed in the study uses both specific mutation profiles from plasma cfDNA along with protein biomarkers. The combination of these markers enabled excellent performance of the assay in a cohort of asymptomatic HBV carriers. A total of 331 HBV carriers (with normal alpha-fetoprotein levels and normal ultrasound) were tested using HCCscreen. Among them, 24 subjects were identified as positive and 307 (out of 331) as negative. Furthermore, four out of the 24 individuals with a positive HCCscreen test were later diagnosed as having early stage liver cancer (less than 3 cm) within 6-8 months. The early detection with HCCscreen allows earlier intervention with surgery, which significantly increases the likelihood of cure. On the other hand, none of HCCscreen-negative individuals were diagnosed clinically with liver cancer in the same follow-up period. Therefore, at the time point, this result demonstrated a 17% positive predictive value, a 100% sensitivity and a 94% specificity in this cohort.

One of HCCscreen’s core technologies is Mutation Capsule, invented by Genetron, which enables the accurate detection of hot spot mutations, indels and hepatitis B virus (HBV) integrations commonly present in HCC tumors. Besides the biomarkers described in this study, this assay can be further optimized to detect more genetic alterations, such as copy number variations. The optimized assay has been validated in additional cohorts with >93% sensitivity and >98% specificity.

Mr. Sizhen Wang, co-founder and CEO of Genetron, emphasized: “Some developed countries have achieved extraordinary performance in reducing morbidity and mortality of some cancer types, such as colorectal cancer in the United States and gastric cancer in Japan, which need to thank the efficient early screening of the cancers. Genetron is working diligently and would like to launch the product for early screening of liver cancer, therefore, to reduce mortality of liver cancer patients. The similar technology can be adapted and developed to screen other types of cancers after clinical validation, and we are dedicated to providing effective technologies for the early detection of cancer in high-risk populations, as well as in general populations.”

With a noninvasive blood test, the liquid biopsy technology can provide important diagnostic indicators for asymptomatic HBV carriers. The research team is currently conducting a larger scale clinical trial to further improve and validate the method.

Background

Liquid biopsy using plasma cell free DNA (cfDNA) mutation profiles has made great progress in recent years, and promising results have been demonstrated in early screening of multiple cancer types.

Patients identified by HCCscreen as being positive for tumor-specific markers in this prospective study were mostly asymptomatic as they had very early stage liver cancer. Compared to the differentiation of healthy individuals and hospitalized cancer patients in retrospective studies, it could be more challenging to distinguish asymptomatic early-stage HCC patients from at-risk individuals, however, the prospective studies could be important to set up the algorithm and threshold with favorable performance in the screening of early HCC, as the screening of HCC most likely happens in the context of high-risk individuals in clinical practice.

###

About Genetron Health (Beijing) Co. Ltd

As a leader in cancer precision medicine in China, Genetron is practicing the research and development concept of “exploration, discovery, application and change”. Genetron offers cancer researchers and health care providers a full cycle of products and services from prevention to treatment, including risk assessment, early screening, molecular diagnosis, medication guidance, and prognosis monitoring.

Genetron maintains facilities worldwide totaling over 10,000 square meters, with two research and development centers, one in China and one in the United States, and four clinical diagnostic laboratories across China. Genetron is accredited by both CAP and CLIA. The company also has a team of multi-disciplinary experts covering cancer genomics, bioinformatics, pharmacology, and clinical pathology.

Genetron has cooperated with some of the world’s top medical and research institutes domestically and internationally on nearly 100 projects and has led many national or local scientific research projects with publications in journals such as Nature Genetics, PNAS, and Nature Communications. Genetron provides both diagnostic products and services to hundreds of scientific research institutions and has served tens of thousands of cancer patients. Its in-depth vision has laid out opportunities both upstream and downstream in the industrial chain for future development.

In the field of diagnosis and treatment, Genetron’s products and services cover a spectrum of cancers, including but not limited to the brain, lung, liver, colorectum, bladder, breast, stomach, and thyroid cancers. In the field of cancer screening, Genetron has already developed high sensitivity and specificity technology that is being validated in larger cohorts. The rigorously validated technology platform will hold promise for future earlier cancer screening.

About Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

The Cancer Hospital of CAMS was founded in 1958, and is the home of the China National Cancer Clinical Medical Research Center, the National Standardized Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Quality Control Center, and the State Food and Drug Administration certified National Drug Clinical Research Center. It integrates medical education and research and is the authority for the nation’s basic research and clinical diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The hospital is in the forefront of the multidisciplinary and standardized comprehensive treatment of various tumors in China. The annual outpatient visits are more than 840,000, and the annual operations is more than 20,000.

The hospital has extensive academic influence internationally and cooperates with the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. It has signed strategic cooperation agreements with internationally renowned cancer research and treatment institutions such as Mayo Clinic, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the UK Cancer Institute (CRUK).

About PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) is one of the world’s most-cited and comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journals, which strives to publish only the highest quality scientific research, and papers undergo rigorous peer review and approval by an NAS member before publication. PNAS publishes cutting-edge research, science news, Commentaries, Perspectives, Colloquium Papers, Reviews, and actions of the NAS. The journal’s content spans the biological, physical, and social sciences and is global in scope.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.genetronhealth.com

Or send your inquiry to:

Ms. Yuan Tao

Genetron Health (Beijjing) Co. Ltd

Email: [email protected]

Media Contact
Yuan Tao
[email protected]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1819799116

Tags: cancerGenesGeneticsLiverMedicine/HealthPublic Health
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Exploring Plastid Genome Traits in Saururaceae

October 5, 2025
blank

Exploring Splicing Patterns in Medicinal Rheum Palmatum

October 5, 2025

NR2E1 Gene Methylation Influences Beef Cattle Adipocytes

October 5, 2025

“Rice Cultivar Transcriptome Reveals Heat Stress Response Genes”

October 4, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    94 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    92 shares
    Share 37 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Insights Suggest ALS May Be an Autoimmune Disease

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Supporting Caregivers of COPD Patients: Key Insights

Exploring Plastid Genome Traits in Saururaceae

Evaluating Mid-Upper Arm Circumference for Child Thinness

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 62 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.