Ovarian cancer blood test trial in bid to help with early detection of deadly disease

Queensland women are set to take part in groundbreaking clinical trials for a blood test that will detect early stages of one of the deadliest cancers, which often evades early diagnosis.

Queensland women are to take part in groundbreaking clinical trials for a blood test that will detect early stage ovarian cancer.

Researchers will confirm the performance of the University of Queensland’s world-first blood test in the general population as a screening tool that will save lives.

Professor Carlos Salomon Gallo, Director of the UQ Centre for Extracellular Vesicle Nanomedicine said around 1500 women from across Queensland will be recruited to take part in the trials.

“Rapid and accurate identification of asymptomatic ovarian cancer will dramatically improve survival rates,” Professor Salomon Gallo said.

“Ovarian cancer ranks as the 8th most prevalent cause of death for women, with the elevated mortality rate primarily because diagnosis usually occurs when the disease is at an advanced stage.

“In this study, we will confirm the performance of the test under real-world conditions which will involve the collection of blood samples from multiple sites throughout Queensland and their shipment to a central laboratory for analysis.’’

Around 1500 women from across Queensland will be recruited to take part in the trials. .

Dr Salomon Gallo’s team developed the screening test that targets extracellular vesicles (EVs) - microscopic bubbles produced by cells that contain proteomic and genomic information that signal the presence of cancer.

UQ has partnered with ASX-listed biotechnology company INOVIQ Ltd (ASX: IIQ) to develop the world’s first EV-based ovarian cancer screening test that has been evaluated on more than 500 blood samples and demonstrated an overall accuracy of 94 per cent.

“Another advantage of this test is the extremely low false positive rate of four per cent in previous studies which makes it a suitable candidate as a screening tool,” Professor Salomon Gallo said.

“If the false positive rate is high, say 10 per cent, then too many women would be sent for further diagnostic investigations and biopsies they don’t need, and this creates unnecessary anxiety and places an extra burden on the healthcare system.

“We hope this test enables women with ovarian cancer to be diagnosed at the earliest stage, when they have a fighting chance against this silent killer.”

Postmenopausal women over the age of 45 with no prior history of ovarian cancer will be eligible to enrol in the study.

Originally published as Ovarian cancer blood test trial in bid to help with early detection of deadly disease