DE SOTO, Kan. -
A British biotech company that's made its home in De Soto, Kansas soon may change the way doctors fight lung cancer. Patients from around the world soon may send tests there for early detection that could save their lives.
Scientists and medical technologists test blood samples for lung cancer. About 100 doctors at 20 locations across the midwest and southeast send the tests to Oncimmune based in De Soto. Doctors said it can detect the killer disease three to five years sooner than finding symptoms from a patient.
" Lung cancer is a death sentence right now," Oncimmune VP Greg Stanley said. "Because it's symptomatic detection. There's no early detection of lung cancer. On top of that you have a patient population, most notably smokers, that live in denial. They don't want to know because it is a death sentence. So it's almost a catch-22."
Not anymore. By detecting lung cancer early, patients could have it removed surgically and increase their chances of being cured. Oncimmune expects its test may become as routine as a PSA test for prostate cancer or mammograms for breast cancer.
"50 to 70 million people in the United States potentially could benefit from having this test done on a regular basis," Stanley said. "That gives you some scope of possibility we have just in us, just for lung cancer."
Right now the test costs about $200 and because it's cutting edge technology, health insurance doesn't cover it. But Stanley expects that will change as peer-review studies on the test are published later this year and more doctors start using it.
Eventually, Oncimmune hopes to develop a test that will identify not just lung cancer, but 90 percent of all cancers.
Scientists and medical technologists test blood samples for lung cancer. About 100 doctors at 20 locations across the midwest and southeast send the tests to Oncimmune based in De Soto. Doctors said it can detect the killer disease three to five years sooner than finding symptoms from a patient.
" Lung cancer is a death sentence right now," Oncimmune VP Greg Stanley said. "Because it's symptomatic detection. There's no early detection of lung cancer. On top of that you have a patient population, most notably smokers, that live in denial. They don't want to know because it is a death sentence. So it's almost a catch-22."
Not anymore. By detecting lung cancer early, patients could have it removed surgically and increase their chances of being cured. Oncimmune expects its test may become as routine as a PSA test for prostate cancer or mammograms for breast cancer.
"50 to 70 million people in the United States potentially could benefit from having this test done on a regular basis," Stanley said. "That gives you some scope of possibility we have just in us, just for lung cancer."
Right now the test costs about $200 and because it's cutting edge technology, health insurance doesn't cover it. But Stanley expects that will change as peer-review studies on the test are published later this year and more doctors start using it.
Eventually, Oncimmune hopes to develop a test that will identify not just lung cancer, but 90 percent of all cancers.
