ClearNote Health has built a world-class multi-disciplinary team focused on applying our unique epigenomic platform to make long-term cancer survival a reality for more people.

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By Vincent Furci (LinkedIn) | Guest Contributor Article

Unlike traditional healthcare models, concierge medical practices are uniquely suited to delivering on the promise of preventive and personalized medicine. With highly engaged patient populations and access to advanced new technologies, these practices are redefining traditional healthcare delivery models and enabling early detection for diseases that are typically diagnosed too late for the best outcomes.

Pancreatic cancer is a great example. Most people think of this so-called “silent killer” as a death sentence. But in reality, early detection makes a huge difference; the reason pancreatic cancer so often comes with a grim prognosis is that most cases are diagnosed in advanced stages. When pancreatic cancer is caught in its earliest stage, patients have a five-year survival rate better than 80%. But in the advanced, often metastatic, stages that the disease is more commonly diagnosed, the five-year survival rates plummet to as low as 3%.

In traditional medical practices where patients usually come in only when they have symptoms, pancreatic cancer is exceedingly unlikely to be detected in the early stages. But concierge practices offer the possibility for much better outcomes through proactive care. That’s especially important for pancreatic cancer, which is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related death and on the path to overtake the second leading cause by 2030. In 2022, more than 51,000 people died from pancreatic cancer in the U.S.

But early detection for pancreatic cancer has long been a challenge. Historically, there has not been a simple or standard annual screening method analogous to the mammograms and colonoscopies that have been so beneficial for catching breast cancer and colorectal cancer sooner. Imaging tools can be useful, but they have their own drawbacks — and typically cannot be deployed often enough for early detection of the most aggressive forms of this cancer.

An innovative new approach is ideal for early detection in patients covered by concierge medical practices. Liquid biopsy tests, requiring only a simple blood draw, can now be used to look for the earliest biological signals of pancreatic cancer. These tests can even detect pancreatic cancer in stage 1A, even before it might be easily detectable by medical imaging, when patients have the best chance of long-term survival and the greatest array of treatment options available.

One particularly effective type of blood test for pancreatic cancer relies on two key biomarker types: genomic and epigenomic profiles, both gleaned from cell-free DNA shed by tumors into the bloodstream. DNA mutations analyzed through genome analysis can signal early changes associated with an emerging tumor, while epigenomic data provides insights into genetic regulation and actively expressed genes associated with this particular type of cancer. Pairing these biological signals together, rather than analyzing only genomic or only epigenomic data, leads to more accurate detection of early pancreatic cancer.

Of course, not all patients require the same level of monitoring for pancreatic cancer. Again, this is an area where concierge practices often outperform standard medical practices with their ability to offer personalized care plans. While any patient might receive a single blood test to check for pancreatic cancer, high-risk patients might need to have these tests performed more regularly — perhaps even semi-annually for the most concerning cases, timed strategically to complement imaging tests. With a liquid biopsy approach, testing can be incorporated easily into clinical management protocols on a frequency appropriate for each patient.

There are two broad categories that put patients at elevated risk for pancreatic cancer. The first is the better known: any kind of genetic predisposition or family history of pancreatic cancer. Having a first-degree relative with pancreatic cancer can double or even triple a person’s risk of developing this disease. According to American Gastroenterological Association guidelines, surveillance testing should be performed starting by age 50, or 10 years younger than the age of onset for affected family members. Genetic susceptibility has also been well established in pancreatic cancer. Certain mutations, such as those in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, or a diagnosis of Lynch syndrome, are among the many genetic variants associated with significantly increased risk.

The second category of risk is often overlooked. Patients over the age of 50 with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes have up to eight times the risk of developing pancreatic cancer in the next few years as the general population. The onset of diabetes can actually be a symptom of cancer, occurring when the tumor interferes with insulin production in the pancreas. Because there is little awareness of this connection, patients who should be tested for pancreatic cancer after their diabetes diagnosis rarely get a recommendation for it. For their part, patients are often overwhelmed by managing diabetes alone; even those who are encouraged to get follow-up testing for pancreatic cancer may ignore it if they do not have strong and ongoing relationships with their clinical care teams.

With the elevated patient experience they deliver, concierge practices have the robust patient relationships needed to support a preventive approach to medicine. Incorporating simple blood tests for the early detection of pancreatic cancer allows doctors in these practices to provide proactive care with the benefits of precision medicine for their highest-risk patients.

About the Author

Vince Furci has an extensive background in oncology products and services. He serves as a senior director of national strategic accounts at ClearNote Health, which is focused on delivering early detection tests for some of the deadliest cancers.

About ClearNote Health

ClearNote Health – Cancer detection company enabling people at risk for high-mortality cancers to live longer, healthier lives. We focus on developing non-invasive tests to detect cancer through a standard blood draw earlier than existing methods by harnessing the power of epigenomics. We apply our proprietary epigenomic platform, combining biology and artificial intelligence, to identify DNA-based changes in biology as cancer develops. With lead programs in non-invasive early detection of pancreatic and ovarian cancers in patients at the highest risk for these diseases. Headquartered in the U.S, the company’s CLIA and CAP-accredited laboratory is located in San Diego, Calif., with additional presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally.

#biotechnology #epigenomics #oncology #cancerresearch #cancer #conciergemedicine

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