SAN DIEGO and SHANGHAI, Oct. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — In collaboration with Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Singlera Genomics, a UC San Diego spinout company focused on non-invasive cancer detection, presented the results of its initial ColonES retrospective study at the 2018 American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting. ColonES utilizes targeted next-generation sequencing to screen for early stage colorectal cancer (CRC) and precancerous lesions known as advanced adenomas using methylation haplotype signatures of circulating tumor methylated DNA (ctmDNA) in blood plasma.

Detecting CRC at its earliest stages greatly improves survival rates, from 10% if detected at later stages to approximately 90% if detected earlier. “Discovering advanced adenomas, the precancerous stage of CRC, can greatly reduce the risk of CRC in the population,” said Dr. Guoxiang Cai, Professor of Surgical Oncology and Vice Director of the Department of Surgery at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. “Current gold standard screening tests, such as colonoscopy or stool based tests, are uncomfortable and thus have a low compliance rate. Based on initial studies, ColonES is clearly a viable blood-based alternative which could increase CRC screening compliance.”

In the ColonES study, 1,243 patients were enrolled, including 429 healthy individuals, 204 individuals with advanced adenomas, 291 CRC stage I patients, 133 CRC stage II patients, 124 CRC stage III patients, and 102 CRC stage IV patients. These samples were matched for sex, age, neoplasm size and neoplasm location. In an independent blinded sample cohort, sensitivities of 93% for CRC and 88% for advanced adenoma were achieved with a specificity of 99%.

“These results are extremely encouraging and warrant further prospective validation,” said Yuan Gao, PhD, Cofounder and Chairman of Singlera Genomics. “The overall accuracy, cost, and convenience of ColonES could provide a viable non-invasive colon cancer screening method before colonoscopy, and ultimately save lives.”

Singlera Genomics is currently looking for collaboration partners. The company has also applied similar technology to other cancer types with high accuracy.

Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center
Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, established in 1931 as Sino-Belgium Radium Institute, is the first comprehensive cancer hospital in China. With a history of over eight decades, the Center has taken the initiative in exploring cancer in terms of its prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research.

Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University
Nanfang Hospital is the first affiliated hospital of Southern Medical University, which was founded in 1951 and became a national key university in 1979. As the earliest medical center to serve foreigners, Nanfang Hospital has admitted more than 110,000 patients from over 90 countries and regions.

Singlera Genomics Inc. (www.singlera.com)
Singlera Genomics Inc., a company focusing on non-invasive genetic diagnosis, was co-founded in July 2014 in San Diego, California. The company currently has R&D centers and business operations in both La Jolla, California, and Shanghai, China. Singlera has proprietary technologies in single cell sequencing, DNA methylation, and bioinformatics.

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