Liver cancer is the second most common cancer with a high mortality rate worldwide. According to WHO, liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and seventh most common cancer in women. Treatment could be possible only if diagnosed at an early stage. Hence research studies were conducted worldwide to find the most accurate diagnostic tool to detect liver cancer.

On April 19, 2018, Epigenomics AG had announced promising results of the mSEPT9 blood test, which could detect liver cancer among cirrhosis patients with high specificity and sensitivity. This blood test exhibited higher accuracy, compared to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) marker test, which had been currently used as a diagnostic marker for liver cancer.

Jorge Garces, President & Chief Scientific Officer of Epigenomics AG said, “We are very excited about the promising clinical results of our mSEPT9 blood test in the diagnosis of liver cancer; in the future, an accurate blood test could offer the opportunity to closely monitor patients at high risk for developing liver cancer.”

“Future prospective studies should assess the mSEPT9 test in a screening algorithm for patients with cirrhosis to improve risk prediction and the personalized therapeutic management of liver cancer”, said Abderrahim Oussalah MD, PhD, Department of Molecular Medicine at the University Hospital of Nancy (France).