Prostate cancer diagnostics using a non-invasive test based on innovative glycan-based scanning

Introduction

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the 2nd most frequent cancer in men, with 1.4 million new annual cases and nearly 0.4 million deaths worldwide in 2020.

Future Projections

PCa incidence is expected to increase to 2.1 million cases and 0.6 million annual deaths by 2035. Statistically, 1 in 8 men will get PCa in their lifetime.

Importance of Early Detection

However, nearly 50% of cancer deaths may be avoided if PCa were detected at early stages. Survival is proportional to the stage reached at the time of diagnosis; hence early-stage diagnostics is key to reducing mortality.

Project Aim

Our aim is to clinically validate and register ProSCAN, an affordable, non-invasive next-generation liquid biopsy PCa diagnostic test with a final accuracy of up to 90%.

Innovation in Diagnostics

ProSCAN is the first test for early-stage PCa diagnostics based on glycan analysis in blood. It will identify healthy men and those at risk of PCa who need a confirmatory biopsy.

Impact on Healthcare

Being so accurate, ProSCAN will eliminate approximately 1.6 million avoidable biopsies, with a cost of around €1.5 billion (in the EU and the US alone).