Oncimmune Share News (ONC)

(Sharecast News) - Immunodiagnostics group Oncimmune announced the pre-publication of the three-year follow-up data for the 'Early detection of Cancer of the Lung Scotland' (ECLS) trial on Monday, which showed that after three years, the number of late-stage cancers and deaths were lower in patients tested with the 'EarlyCDT Lung' blood test.
The AIM-traded firm said that crucially, all-cause mortality as well as cancer-specific and lung cancer mortality were reduced.

It said the ECLS trial, believed to be the largest randomised controlled trial for the detection of cancer using blood-based biomarkers, was published in a peer-reviewed paper entitled in the European Respiratory Journal last year.

The study showed a 36% reduction in late-stage diagnoses of lung cancer, and indicated a lower rate of all deaths and lung cancer-related deaths among people in the intervention arm of the trial after two years, compared with people in the control group, suggesting that the EarlyCDT Lung blood test followed by computerised tomography (CT) imaging could produce a mortality benefit.

Oncimmune said the three-year follow-up data supported a continued trend towards a reduction in mortality, and also showed that autoantibodies detected by the EarlyCDT Lung blood test were "specific and most sensitive" for early-stage disease in the first year after testing, with lung cancers detected mainly at an early stage.

In Scotland, lung cancer affects more than 5,000 people each year, of which around 4,000 will die of the disease, usually because the diagnosis was made too late for curative treatment.

Earlier diagnosis meant that more patients should benefit from newer, more effective chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, thus reducing the impact of the disease.

Further follow-up analyses would be performed on the cohort after five and 10 years.

"The key to cancer survival is early detection," said chief executive officer Dr Adam Hill.

"With thousands fewer patients being referred for lung cancer tests since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the early detection of lung cancer has never been more important.

"This paper demonstrates the impact a simple blood test in combination with volumetric imaging can have on cancer mortality."

Dr Hill noted that cancer-specific mortality was "significantly lower" in those tested with EarlyCDT Lung.

"Assuming the three year survival from lung cancer is 80% in those tested, this would suggest 472 people need to to be tested in order to save one life, which is comparable with other established, and widely available screening programmes for other cancers.

"It is encouraging to see this data generated for the EarlyCDT Lung blood test which provides further evidence in support of its adoption.

"Oncimmune is in ongoing discussions to this end with healthcare providers across the UK and further afield."

At 1450 BST, shares in Oncimmune Holdings were down 1.73% at 183.77p.