Creatv MicroTech Receives DoD Funding for Lung Cancer Screening

Creatv MicroTech, Inc. (Creatv) has received a $625,000 award from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) to investigate their discovery of giant circulating cells found in peripheral blood for non-invasive detection of lung cancer by differentiating malignant from benign pulmonary nodules detected by low dose CT (LDCT). In the three-year study, Creatv will examine blood samples from 1,250 subjects at high risk for lung cancer based on their smoking history and occupational exposure to carcinogens. The research will be carried out in collaboration with Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) and the Philadelphia VA Hospital.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with 234,000 new cases and 154,000 deaths expected in 2018. Disease that is found and treated early has a higher probability of patient survival indicating that screening has a crucial role in saving lives.

Low dose CT is recommended for lung cancer screening for 8 million smokers by the US Preventative Services Task Force, however, there are several problems with the current screening paradigm. Most critically, over 39% of screened subjects were determined to have “indeterminate” pulmonary nodules with a 96.4% false positive rate which leads to many costly, risky, and possibly unnecessary biopsies.

Creatv has identified a previously unanalyzed cancer associated circulating biomarker which appears as polynucleated giant cell (25 to 300 microns in size) found in the blood of cancer patients but absent in healthy controls. Creatv named these cells Cancer Associated Macrophage-like Cells (CAMLs) and have preliminary shown that CAMLs are found in high percentages in all stages of cancer, even in Stage I, and present in most major solid cancers.