VisionGate to Present at ISALC Meeting: 3D Cell Imaging Platform can Increase Utility of CT Screening for Lung Cancer

VisionGate, Inc., a company developing a revolutionary non-invasive test for the early detection of lung cancer, today announced that it will present data showing how adjunctive use of its LuCED™ test can improve the utility of low dose x-ray computed tomography (CT) screening for the early detection of lung cancer in high risk individuals. LuCED uses VisionGate’s revolutionary automated 3D cell imaging platform, the Cell-CT™, which generates high-resolution 3D biosignatures from intact cells using a sputum sample. The data will be presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer on July 7, 2011 from 9:30am-12:30pm CEST.

The proposed first use of LuCED as an adjunct to CT screening reflects the results of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) landmark National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) of more than 53,000 current and former heavy smokers, which showed that low-dose helical CT screening reduced lung cancer deaths by 20% compared to standard chest x-rays. These dramatic results were first presented last November and were expanded this week in the June 29, 2011 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The NLST findings are generating widespread interest in the broad use of CT screening as a way to reduce lung cancer deaths in high-risk populations. However, the utility of the approach is hampered by the high rate of false positive results seen in the study—according to the NCI, more than 96% of the positive results from low-dose CT screening over three rounds of testing turned out to be false positive findings, representing almost a quarter (23.3%) of the overall test results. These false positive test results require follow-up care that results in unnecessary invasive procedures for many patients and significantly higher costs for the healthcare system as a whole, potentially jeopardizing the feasibility of implementing mass screening programs for the millions of individuals at high risk for lung cancer.

In its presentation, VisionGate shows how LuCED harnesses the power of 3D imaging to accurately detect cancer cells when present in sputum samples from individuals at high risk of lung cancer. The presentation outlines patient management protocols for the non-invasive and efficient use of LuCED as an adjunct to CT screening to confirm which cases are true positives and to lower significantly the number of cases which are false positives.

LuCED uses the company’s breakthrough automated Cell-CT platform to produce detailed 3D images of the cells contained in sputum samples, which the system analyzes to identify key features associated with potential malignancy. The analysis yields a score that indicates whether or not cancer cells are present in the sample. The Cell-CT system produces strikingly clear and comprehensive 3D images of the cells, enabling extremely accurate classifications. VisionGate researchers estimate that LuCED will be able to achieve specificity of 99% and sensitivity of 75% in actual use.

The Cell-CT platform’s 3D technology, along with its advanced automated 3D image analysis algorithms, for the first time make a cell-based sputum analysis approach both logistically feasible and cost effective.

VisionGate’s poster (P4.007), “The LuCED Test for Detection of Early Lung Cancer: A Criterion to Complete the Test with High Sensitivity,” will be presented by Michael Meyer on July 7, 2011 from 9:30am-12:30pm CEST.

The IASLC’s 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer is being held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from July 3-July 7, 2011.