Surfix Diagnostics, the Netherlands Cancer Institute and CRCbioscreen join forces to validate biomarkers for colorectal cancer screening
Amsterdam and Wageningen, Netherlands, July 10, 2024: Today, Surfix Diagnostics alongside the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and CRCbioscreen, announce a collaboration aimed at enhancing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods. This project is set to leverage Surfix Diagnostics’ advanced photonic diagnostic platform and novel biomarkerstargeting molecularly-defined high risk precursor lesions and cancer discovered by NKI. This project is, supported by a PPP grant from the TKI-program Life Sciences & Health of Health~Holland, marking a significant
step forward in non-invasive colorectal cancer early detection.
Globally, colorectal cancer impacts 1.9 million people each year, standing as a leading cause of cancer mortality. Despite the deployment of the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) in current screening initiatives, which identifies blood in stool samples through hemoglobin detection, there remains a critical gap in sensitivity. Approximately 25-30% of cancers and 70% of advanced adenomas go undetected by the FIT, underscoring the urgent need for more refined screening methods. Recently, the research group at NKI, in collaboration with CRCbioscreen, presented the
multitargetFIT test in the scientific journal Lancet Oncology. This new test aims at the detection of three protein biomarkers in stool leading to an improved detection, compared to FIT, of advanced adenomas, next to CRC. The current project concerns a different set of biomarkers in stool that aim to detect adenomas with a specific molecular profile that makes them prone to progress to cancer.. The NKI’s identification of protein biomarkers in stool samples for detecting CRC and these molecularly high-risk adenomas presents an opportunity to significantly improve
screening accuracy.
The PHOBICCS project, a collaborative effort between Surfix Diagnostics, the NKI and CRCbioscreen, is dedicated to developing a stool-based test for these newly discovered biomarkers, utilizing Surfix Diagnostics’ ultra-sensitive photonic diagnostics platform. Positive outcomes from this project could lead to further development of this biomarker test by CRCbioscreen, offering a more effective solution for CRC screening in the future.