Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among females worldwide. In Canada, breast cancer accounts for 25% of all cancers among females.

Breast cancer marker levels in patient plasma have known correlation with disease progression and regression. Early detection of relapse with biomarkers in asymptomatic patients can save both patient lives and reduce healthcare costs.

Aside from high incidence levels, breast cancer generally has low mortality rates. This leads to a high prevalence of breast cancer patients and survivors who can benefit from more regular testing for indicators of relapse.

Spot Profiler TA-BRC

Using the breast cancer management cartridge (TA-BRC), the Spot Profiler is capable of quantitatively detecting 4 established breast cancer biomarkers in a small sample of human whole blood or plasma, simultaneously, in 15 minutes: Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125), and Cytokeratin 19 Fragment (CYFRA21-1).

Despite the low specificity of these markers individually as indicators of cancer, measuring as many of these markers as permitted by technology could improve cancer early diagnosis and potentially assist patient stratification, especially when combined with other diagnostic tools. Furthermore, some of these markers are currently used by doctors as auxiliary tests in breast cancer patients so the chosen biomarkers already have established credibility.

Pan-Cancer Biomarker Screening

In most of the world, cancer marker testing of asymptomatic people is not recommended due to the lack of clinical significance, high testing costs, lack of healthcare resources, and emotional burden on users. However, there is a large private market for cancer marker testing in certain countries in Asia, where there is a high demand for it among the general population. In fact, there are health clinics that specialize in providing these physical examinations and provide an extensive selection of examination packages. Cancer markers tested as part of these exams also vary greatly between packages and between clinics, though markers for cancers of the liver, colon, prostate and ovaries are most common.

Spot Profiler TA-PCB

Using the pan-cancer biomarker cartridge (TA-PCB), the Spot Profiler is capable of quantitatively detecting 10 established cancer biomarkers in a small sample of human whole blood or plasma, simultaneously, in 15 minutes: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Beta-2 microglobulin (B2M), Cancer antigen 125 (CA125), Cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), Carbohydrate antigen (CA19-9), Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1), Ferritin, Neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and Prostate-specific antigen (PSA). These markers cover a wide range of cancers, though not all are specific for a single type of cancer.