On September 12, 2022 Delfi Diagnostics, a pioneering developer of a new class of high-performance, accessible liquid biopsy tests for early cancer detection and monitoring, reported that has been selected as the liquid lung cancer biopsy partner in Europe’s multi-national, randomized, prospective lung cancer screening trial known as 4-IN-THE-LUNG-RUN, or 4ITLR (Press release, Delfi Diagnostics, SEP 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234619476]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Through 4ITLR, European investigators are studying how often – every year, or every other year – individuals should get screened if their initial CT scan is negative. Delfi’s technology is paired to the study objectives by measuring whether Delfi can identify individuals in Europe’s screen-eligible population who are most likely to benefit from a CT scan. The collaboration, initiated and facilitated through a partnership between the Netherlands Cancer Institute ((NKI), with Dr. D. van den Broek as PI) and the institute for DiagNostic Accuracy (iDNA), includes Delfi analyzing the first 9,000 subjects enrolled through the trial in the Netherlands and France (Gustave Roussy) – generating data that can support Delfi’s research and subsequent implementation within the European Union.

"One of the goals of our study is to examine how a liquid biopsy test might improve screening in a manner that is cost-effective," said prof. Matthijs Oudkerk, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at iDNA and leading the Radiology and AI readings of 4ITLR. "We are eager to explore how a low-cost liquid biopsy platform could help us screen more high-risk Europeans."

Based on the results of the NELSON trial, the European Union is expected to initiate a European lung cancer screening program for individuals at risk due to their smoking and age.

"We know that LDCT screening is effective in reducing lung cancer mortality," said Peter B. Bach, Delfi Diagnostics Chief Medical Officer. "This study should lay the groundwork for widespread, cost efficient screening of those at risk in Europe. Delfi is honored to be part of it."

Lung cancer kills more than 380,000 Europeans each year, and more than half of all new lung cancer diagnoses in Europe occur at stage IV, when 5-year survival rates can be as low as 2 percent. But screening older heavy smokers with low-dose CT could save up to 80,000 lives in Europe per year.