Blood Test Breakthrough Promises Earlier Cancer Detection
New Methylation Technology Aims to Spot Disease Before Symptoms Emerge
A revolutionary approach to analyzing cell-free DNA is paving the way for detecting cancer at its earliest, pre-symptomatic stages, potentially transforming how and when the disease is identified.
Tagomics Secures Funding for Colorectal Cancer Test
Biotechnology firm Tagomics has received £860,000 from Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst programme to advance a diagnostic test for early-stage colorectal cancer detection. This funding will bolster a pilot study with the NHS and further refine the company’s multiomic platform.
The platform is engineered to identify subtle molecular cancer signals using epigenetic and genetic markers from a single blood sample. A 250-patient clinical study, led by Arash Assadsangabi at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, will evaluate the test’s real-world performance. This research builds upon prior collaborations with the Northern Care Alliance Research Collection and a partnership with Agilent Technologies.
Inside the Interlace™ Platform
Tagomics’ Interlace™ platform facilitates streamlined multiomic analysis, enabling genomic and epigenomic profiling from as little as 1 nanogram of DNA. Utilizing Tagomics’ proprietary enzymatic DNA methylation profiling, Interlace enriches unmethylated genomic regions without altering DNA bases.
“Looking ahead, we envision Interlace™ as a screening tool for multi-cancer early detection.”
—Robert Neely, Associate Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Birmingham, and co-founder of Tagomics
The system integrates epigenomic data with whole-genome or targeted sequencing, offering a simultaneous multiomic readout. Its assumption-free, genome-wide workflow is ideal for discovering novel, multiomic biomarkers.
Accelerating Detection with Advanced Methylation Analysis
Interlace’s epigenomic technology leverages genome-wide unmethylated DNA enrichment. With only 20–30 percent of the genome’s CpG sites unmethylated, this method allows for highly efficient and scalable profiling. Compared to traditional chemistries, Interlace requires approximately ten times less sequencing, enhancing both biomarker discovery and clinical application.
This advancement significantly aids early cancer detection by enabling a more comprehensive, multiomic approach to epigenomic profiling and bridging the gap between discovery and clinical validation. The outcome is a more accessible diagnostic tool reflecting the complexity of disease biology across diverse patient populations.
NHS Explores Liquid Biopsies for Early Detection
There is growing interest in liquid biopsies for early cancer detection and monitoring treatment response. Evidence suggests that the absence of circulating tumor DNA post-treatment can signify a cure, potentially allowing clinicians to cease therapies early. The NHS is actively trialing such technologies, including a recent lung cancer blood test initiative.
A sensitive and specific early detection test could revolutionize the health service. Current NHS trials are investigating DNA methylation as an early-stage disease indicator. While routine use is pending greater sensitivity for the earliest stages, this pioneering work fuels innovation in multiomic approaches for more precise diagnostics.
Colorectal Cancer: A Strategic Focus
Tagomics is prioritizing areas where its platform can deliver the greatest patient impact. The company’s epigenomic technology specifically targets unmethylated DNA, and methylation loss is a recognized prognostic marker in colorectal and gastric cancers. This makes colorectal cancer a prime candidate for the multiomic blood test, aiming to significantly improve early detection rates.
Pilot Study Aims for Clinical Validation
The pilot study will assess Interlace’s performance using real-world samples from a colorectal cancer clinic. The primary objective is to gauge its effectiveness for early detection in a clinical setting, alongside understanding clinician use and patient benefit.
Following this pilot, Tagomics plans clinical validation and utility studies for colorectal cancer, demonstrating Interlace’s ability to improve patient outcomes. The platform’s capacity to work with minute cfDNA amounts makes it suitable for broader applications in blood sample analysis.
Future Vision: Multi-Cancer Screening
Robert Neely envisions Interlace as a future screening tool for multi-cancer early detection. He notes that approximately 90 percent of cancer patients in the UK are diagnosed after symptoms appear, highlighting a current diagnostic gap. The goal is to shift towards earlier, molecular-level detection before symptoms manifest.
Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst funding has been crucial, enabling Tagomics to address early colorectal cancer diagnosis and demonstrate platform applicability across various cancer types. The grant supports key development milestones, including platform adaptation, scaling manufacturing, and generating pilot data.
Tagomics’ collaborations with Agilent, the NHS, and the Northern Care Alliance Research Collection have been vital. Agilent’s Early-Stage Partnership program has facilitated the integration of SureSelect reagents into the Interlace workflow. The ongoing partnership with the Northern Care Alliance, which began with a lung cancer pilot, provides essential sample collection and biobanking support, forging crucial links with NHS clinicians.
