Description du projet
Améliorer la prédiction des risques de cancer du col de l’utérus
Le papillomavirus humain (PVH ou HPV pour «human papillomavirus») est responsable du cancer du col de l’utérus, le quatrième type de cancer le plus fréquent chez les femmes. Des tests basés sur l’ADN sont utilisés pour détecter le PVH à partir de prélèvements cervicaux, dans le cadre d’une stratégie mondiale de dépistage. Toutefois, ce type de test ADN ne suffit pas à faire la différence entre les cas d’infection qui évolueront cliniquement vers un cancer et ceux qui régresseront spontanément. Le projet HPV OncoPredict, financé par l’UE, a mis au point un dispositif de diagnostic capable de détecter les génotypes du PVH à haut risque. Les données sont combinées à d’autres biomarqueurs en vue de stratifier plus précisément les femmes susceptibles de développer un cancer du col de l’utérus. Ce dispositif devrait permettre de limiter les traitements inutiles et les coûts médicaux correspondants.
Objectif
Cervical cancer (CC) kills a 250,000 people annually, frequently affecting young women, and requires persistent infection with high-risk Human Papillomavirus (hrHPV) for its development. It is preventable, by HPV vaccination and the implementation of population screening programmes, and it is curable if detected and treated early. Despite overwhelming evidence that detection of viral nucleic acids (HPV testing) in cervical cellular samples allows earlier detection of CC as compared to cytology (Pap smear), it is feared that its use as a stand-alone test in CC screening would be responsible for over-diagnosis and over-treatment.
HPV OncoPredict is an innovative diagnostic device (IVD) capable of detecting all oncogenic hrHPV genotypes frequently causing cervical infection as well as allowing to accurate identification those 10% of infected women who are truly at risk of developing cervical cancer. With the use of novel viral biomarkers, HPV OncoPredict, starting from a single self- or clinician-collected cellular sample, will enable women to undergo both primary cervical screening and, if HPV-positive, subsequent triage. HPV OncoPredict will allow HPV testing to reliably replace Pap smears in cervical cancer prevention, as recently recommended by European guidelines, being based on a disruptive technology ahead of any competitor’s product and supported by key opinion leaders.
The HPV testing market is huge (€315 M) with around 100 million tests performed each year. The consortium formed by GeneFirst and Hiantis, both highly innovative companies with patented technologies, has the capacity to bring HPV OncoPredict to success. HPV OncoPredict will not only shape the manner in which we stratify women at risk of developing cervical cancer, but also provide an accurate and cost effective test of disease to benefit patients. More importantly, it will feed into how healthcare systems implement screening strategies to benefit patient pathways.
Champ scientifique
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesnucleic acids
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware development
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologycervical cancer
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesDNA viruses
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
SME - SME instrumentCoordinateur
OX14 3DB Abingdon
Royaume-Uni
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.