Oxford Biodynamics unveils new blood test which can detect dog cancer

Biotech firm Oxford Biodynamics has announced a new blood test, which can diagnose six types of cancer in dogs.

The EpiSwitch SCB (Scooby) test is based on the firm's EpiSwitch platform and was developed in collaboration with a number of groups, including Professor Jaime F Modiano at the university of Minnesota.

The test will now be made available to a select group of vets who will generate real-world data and it is expected to be commercialised through a partnership or outlicensing arrangement with an organisation in the pet healthcare sector.

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"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," said Professor Modiano.

"I believe that the eventual implementation of these tests also has potential to enhance the precision and therefore improve the management and outcomes of canine cancer patients."

The new test can detect six high-utility, frequently occurring cancer types: three sarcomas, two lymphomas, and malignant melanoma, each with balanced accuracy of more than 89%, said OBD.

Dr Sara Fritz, veterinary referral associates, Gaithersburg MD, USA, added: "My first use of the EpiSwitch SCB test helped navigate a very complex case of canine cancer relapse in the absence of options from the current standards of care.

"This test opens possibilities for a quick and reliable diagnosis in the very cases where time is at premium."

Chief scientific officer AT OBD Dr Alexandre Akoulitchev said: "EpiSwitch SCB combines all the advantages of EpiSwitch blood based biomarkers with a novel proprietary multi-choice EpiSwitch array design.

"Once again, we were determined to translate to practice the full potential of our EpiSwitch technology, this time to tackle a prevalent veterinary challenge in support of our four legged friends."

The scooby test is expected to help veterinary specialists diagnose cancer and make more informed treatment decisions, minimize or avoid unnecessarily toxicity, and efficiently manage costs.

The test was validated using 3D whole-genome profiling in peripheral blood and the results can be seen HERE.