Oxford BioDynamics has announced the development of a high-accuracy, discriminating multi-cancer diagnostic test for veterinary medicine. The EpiSwitch® Specific Canine Blood (EpiSwitch® SCB) test is a new canine multi-cancer diagnostic test based on OBD's non-invasive EpiSwitch® array platform. It offers early blood-based detection and discrimination of six high-utility, frequently occurring cancer types in dogs, with each having a balanced accuracy of over 89%. The test was developed in collaboration with leading US KOL Professor Jaime F Modiano, University of Minnesota, USA.
The EpiSwitch® SCB test, also known as "Scooby," is a well-balanced, highly accurate blood test to specifically diagnose canine diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), T-zone lymphoma (TZL), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), histiocytic sarcoma, osteosarcoma, and canine malignant melanoma, in a powerful single assay format. The test was validated using 3D whole-genome profiling in peripheral blood, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity for lymphomas and sarcomas as a class, and for specific individual indications, with an accuracy of over 89%. The test promises to help veterinary specialists diagnose the disease, make more informed treatment decisions, minimize or avoid unnecessary toxicity, and efficiently manage costs and resources.
The EpiSwitch SCB test will be made available to a select group of vets who will generate real-world utility data that will further validate the test. It is expected that the commercialization of the EpiSwitch ECB test will be through a partnership or outlicensing arrangement with an organization with an existing presence in the pet healthcare market. Dr. Sara Fritz from Veterinary Referral Associates, Gaithersburg MD, USA, expressed that the EpiSwitch SCB test helped navigate a complex case of canine cancer relapse, opening possibilities for a quick and reliable diagnosis in cases where time is at a premium.
Professor Jaime Modiano from the University of Minnesota highlighted that the ability to detect the presence of common, life-threatening dog cancers with high accuracy using blood samples provides an improvement over current methods of diagnosis, reducing or eliminating the need for invasive biopsy procedures. Dr. Alexandre Akoulitchev, CSO of OBD, emphasized that the EpiSwitch SCB test combines all the advantages of EpiSwitch blood-based biomarkers with a novel proprietary multi-choice EpiSwitch array design, aiming to tackle a prevalent veterinary challenge in support of our four-legged friends.