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Novel Diagnostic Marker For Early Detection Of Bladder Cancer

Reference Number TO 15-00604

Keywords

Bladder cancer, glycan, diagnostic marker, tumorspecific, antigen

Invention Novelty

Researchers from Hannover Medical School identified a glycosphingolipid glycan with strong prognostic value for bladder cancer.

Value Proposition

Bladder cancer is a life-threatening disease and the chances for curative treatment are strongly depending on the time-point of diagnosis. Unfortunately, current options for diagnosing bladder cancer are very limited and are mainly restricted to invasive procedures. In contrast, the identified tumor-specific glycan can be easily detected in patient’s urine e.g. during preventive medical check-ups and allow for an early, non-invasive diagnosis of bladder cancer.

Novel Diagnostic Marker For Early Detection Of Bladder Cancer

Novel marker is significantly enriched in bladder cancer patients.

Technology Description

Glycosphingolipids have been shown to be suitable markers for different malignant diseases but identification and quantitative measurement of single glycosylation patterns is very complex and not suitable for standard diagnostic tests. Therefore, a novel analytic method was developed [Rossdam et al., Analytical Chemistry, 2019], allowing for quantitative detection of glycans after hydrolysis of the respective glycosphingolipids. Using the novel method a glycan was identified to be significantly enriched in urine samples of bladder cancer patients compared to healthy individuals. Due to a significant increase of this glycan between 5 to 10 times above normal, healthy values, the identified glycan represents a novel marker for early and reliable detection of bladder cancer.

Commercial Opportunity

In-licensing or collaboration for further development is possible.

Development Status

The novel marker has been successfully validated in proof-of-concept studies with urine samples from bladder cancer patients and healthy individuals. An antibody-based detection is currently being developed.

Patent Situation

Patent applications in Europe and USA are pending (based on PCT/EP2020/071613 with priority of 2019).

Further Reading

Rossdam et al., Analytical Chemistry, 2019: Approach for profiling of glycosphingolipid glycosylation by multiplexed capillary gel electrophoresis coupled to laser-induced fluorescence detection to identify cell-surface markers of human pluripotent stem cells and derived cardiomyocytes.