A Highly Accurate Prostate Cancer DNA Test
In a work spanning many years of translational research in prostate cancer, our scientists and Co-Founders, Drs. John Okello and Palak Patel have published a landmark genetic discovery of a three-gene DNA methylation biomarker test which accurately identifies early-stage prostate cancer.
Our scientists collaborated with 30 other scientists and physicians from 10+ institutions across Canada to develop and bring precise molecular tools for improved diagnosis of prostate cancer to the clinics. This multidisciplinary team previously published a couple of papers focusing on the foundational methodology and standard operating procedures they eventually applied in this study. The overall finding from this study which revealed a highly accurate prostate cancer DNA test, published online [Patel et al] on August 21, 2019, is set to appear in the next edition of the prestigious prostate specialist journal, The Prostate. This multi-disciplinary team put together three large cohorts of patients who were diagnosed with early prostate cancer (n = 699). Samples curated from these cohorts were heavily profiled using state-of-the-art technologies. Methylation data modelled into a diagnostic classifier using machine learning algorithms was independently validated with balanced accuracy of >93%. For more detailed information on this study, please refer to the study publication website (Patel et al study).
On Aug 23 2019, this new highly accurate prostate cancer DNA test was featured in the Urology Today, a newsletter that for 15 years has been at the forefront of tracking advancements in the fields of GU Oncology and Urology, with a special focus on recognizing the translation of research into clinical practice.
To help protect and bring the discovery, the team filed for a provisional patent with the US patent office. As a startup in this area, Nurenyx Inc is in talks with Queen’s University to license this technology to become the commercialization partner and help bring this prostate cancer DNA test to the market.
Congratulations to our Co-Founders Dr John Okello and Dr Palak Patel. Nurenyx Inc is proud of your achievements in translating cancer research discoveries and in particular the discovery of a new highly accurate prostate cancer DNA test.
Tags: Highly Accurate Prostate Cancer DNA Test, DNA methylation, biomarker discovery and validation, Cancer epigenetics, Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, Nurenyx, H2i, ONRamp, Precision Medicine, Digital Health
Source: The Prostate Volume 79, Issue 14, Pages: 1705-1714
Research Publication: Research Publication Paper