Oncimmune Holdings (AIM: ONC.L) said its EarlyCDT Lung blood test was featured on an ITV news broadcast last weekend titled ‘New Blood Test Provides Breakthrough in Lung Cancer Detection Rates’.
The feature highlighted that, in the UK, more than 35,000 people die of lung cancer each year and most have their lung cancer diagnosed late thereby lowering their chances of survival. 80% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed in the latest stages of the disease.
The EarlyCDT test works to identify the immune system's response to the presence of lung cancer. The test detects antibodies present in the body, enabling clinicians to focus their diagnosis on identifying the disease and treating it earlier than current clinical practice.
It has previously been shown that Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT Lung blood test can detect lung cancer on average four years before standard of care and has shown in a large National Health Service (NHS) trial that it can reduce late stage lung cancer presentation by 36%.
Shares in Oncimmune Holdings have skyrocketed in recent months from 38.5p since March and were trading 5.73% higher this morning at 147.5p following the news.
The news article said Oncimmune's EarlyCDT Lung blood test has received a Medtech Innovation Briefing from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence which reviewed EarlyCDT Lung for cancer risk stratification of indeterminate pulmonary nodules.
The briefing states that the EarlyCDT Lung blood test enables an earlier as well as more accurate diagnosis of lung cancer in high risk patients which could mean intervention is offered early, with the potential benefit of early treatment and improved outcomes.
The Medtech Innovation Briefing noted that this could have a wider benefit by saving other NHS resources, including CT scanning and radiologists, while also reducing waiting times.
The ITV report concluded that "the test has been recommended for use in the NHS and, if given full approval, many more patients could benefit from screening for this deadly disease."
“We are delighted that Oncimmune's EarlyCDT Lung blood test has received such international publicity,” said Adam M Hill, Chief Executive of Oncimmune.
He added, “The benefits of offering patients the opportunity to identify lung cancer early are clear - early detection of this disease saves lives. We are actively engaged across the NHS to bring the blood test to clinicians and patients."
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