This cancer surveillance technique is more sensitive than an ultrasound or alpha-fetoprotein testing
Extracellular vesicle science specialist Mursla Bio has found that its biopsy-based blood test, EvoLiver, significantly surpasses existing cancer surveillance techniques in detecting primary liver cancer, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), among high-risk, cirrhotic patients.
The study demonstrated 86% early-stage sensitivity at 88% specificity for liver cancer surveillance among 464 patient samples with aetiologies such as MASH/fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis.
“Earlier detection is critical to improving survival rates, as it enables access to effective treatments such as ablation, resection, or transplant,” said Mursla Bio founder and CEO Pierre Arsène.
“Our blood modality is also a more convenient method that will increase patient adherence to surveillance testing.”
This surpasses current detection techniques such as ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein testing.
EvoLiver isolates h-EVs to identify and validate novel multi-omics biomarkers to distinguish HCC with cirrhosis from non-cancerous cirrhosis.
Mursla Bio developed EvoLiver by isolating organ-specific hepatocyte extracellular vesicles (h-EVs) from blood samples, enabling the validation of a novel HCC biomarker signature with fewer than 10h-EV microRNAs and proteins.
The test requires only a low volume of blood and offers a fast turnaround, optimising the diagnosis process and streamlining disease management.
Currently, there is a growing population at risk of developing HCC. Methods such as ultrasound are helpful, but can struggle detecting small tumours, particularly in overweight patients.
Mursla Bio CSO Dr Tomás Dias presented data from the study at AASLD’s The Liver Meeting in San Diego this week in a presentation titled: “Novel multi-omics biomarker signature derived from blood circulating hepatocyte-extracellular vesicles for the early detection of HCC”.
This study was conducted in collaboration with leading academic institutes including University College London, Imperial College London, University Hospital of Santa Maria and the Medical University of Graz.
Mursla Bio will publish the results of the study next year, after which point EvoLiver will be offered in the USA as a laboratory developed test. The company will organise a larger study to secure FDA approval.
Earlier this month, Mursla Bio was invited to join Everest, a European consortium aiming to advance extracellular vesicle (EV) research, innovation and clinical translation for the benefit of patients.
The company will host researchers from European institutions and send staff members on secondments to other partners to contribute to the consortium’s exchange of EV information.
