Way to detect ovarian cancer being developed in Denver
DENVER (KDVR) — A groundbreaking platform for early cancer detection is being developed and tested in the Denver metro area.
FOX31 got an exclusive look at the AOA Dx science lab where it’s all happening.
The women-led company is developing groundbreaking medical technology to detect ovarian cancer earlier and easier with a blood test.
Ovarian cancer has been dubbed the silent killer, a misnomer if you ask CEO and co-founder Oriana Papin-Zoghbi because she said in clinical practice and in research women are actually symptomatic of ovarian cancer many months before their diagnosis.
Part of the problem is that a woman’s routine pap test does not detect ovarian cancer, the only way to diagnose it right now is an invasive surgery.
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Through that process, experts said it takes an average of nine months to get a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, but by that point, most of the time, the cancer has already spread.
“We have mammograms, we have blood tests for all kinds of blood cancers. There’s no screening available [for ovarian cancer], so to have something that could detect this early, I mean, there are just no words for what that could do because so many cases are found in the late stages because the symptoms of ovarian cancer are so vague,” said Emma Schlamm, an ovarian cancer survivor.
Since June 2020, the group has been fundraising for studies and beyond. In January 2024, AOA Dx opened its first lab, providing the team with space and equipment to complete in-house research and development.
“What our team is doing on a day-to-day basis is taking that foundational research and translating it into clinical diagnostic tools,” said Papin-Zoghbi. “That means actually developing the blood test, developing the mechanisms in which we can identify the specific markers in the blood, identifying the ways in which we can quantify them, and then correlating those to disease signatures, in this case in ovarian cancer.”
They are using a technology called tumor marker gangliosides as biomarkers to diagnose early-stage cancers by using a non-invasive blood test.
“Nothing like this exists today. No technology has ever been developed that has gone to the clinic using these biomarkers. We’re going to be the first to do that, and we’re going to apply it to an indication such as ovarian cancer that has been notoriously so difficult to tackle,” said Papin-Zoghbi. “We know that there is a journey ahead, but we’re so motivated to actually have that impact on patient lives.”
Ovarian cancer survivors like Schlamm understand the impact this work will have.
“It makes me frustrated, angry and sick and yet, at the same time, hopeful because I know this is coming and this is real, and it’s not just something imaginary. We’ve always talked about a cancer vaccine is coming and I hope it is in our lifetime, but this is real and this could prevent so many late-stage diagnoses,” said Schlamm. “Because the [survival rate] drop off between being diagnosed in stage one and two verses three and four is enormous. It is enormous, and so being able to detect it earlier, women will live and that’s huge.”
Papin-Zoghbi outlined the process:
1. Research and discovery
2. Development of the technology
3. Clinical studies
4. FDA regulation
5. Introduced to market
They are in phase two and three currently. From this point, it still would take about one to two years before it could be used as a reliable test for the public.
They also hope this allows women to be better advocates for their own health since ovarian cancer symptoms can often be overlooked.
A survivor’s story
It was 2020 when Schlamm felt a sharp pain in her left side on her way to brunch. She was just about to take a trip to Asia.
“I went to urgent care, and they said, ‘Oh there’s definitely something there. Don’t worry, go on your trip, it’s probably an endometrioma or dermoid cyst.’ Things I never heard of. ‘Go on your trip, you’ll be fine and come back and we’ll figure it out,’” said Schlamm.
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She acknowledges the start of the pandemic was not a good time to need health care services, but she pushed to get seen.
“At no time did cancer cross my mind. It just wasn’t on my radar whatsoever. I fought and I said I really want this taken care of, and there was a test that they did called a CA-125 test which is not always reliable for all people,” said Schlamm.
Her levels were elevated, and she ended up getting a mass and one ovary removed but was told no further monitoring was needed.
She ended up getting a second opinion and a scan at a doctor’s office in New York. They found cancer on her remaining ovary.
“That was an out-of-body experience to read the CT scan results to see you know, mass suspicious for malignancy on a piece of paper,” said Schlamm. “It was brutal.”
After treatment, Schlamm is happy to report she has had no evidence of disease since June 2021.
She is now on the board of directors of a nonprofit that raises money for research for cancer, so women like her have more options and more time. Had there been a streamlined test, it would have been detected sooner.
“What’s ironic is that my entire career I worked in public health and adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and so my whole job was about working with young people and empowering them to know their bodies and know their anatomy and to advocate for what they need in the medical system. Then, there I was, doing the same and it’s easier said than done. It really, really is easier said than done. You can read all the information, you have access to the best doctors, the best hospitals and you are still really powerless in a very scary situation,” said Schlamm.
Women in clinical trials
According to the American Cancer Society, the survival rate of prostate cancer at all stages is 97%, whereas the survival rate of ovarian/fallopian tube cancer at all stages is about 50-55%.
“I just wish that gynecological cancers received the same amount of attention as other cancers. We’re half the population, there’s no reason we can’t be involved in clinical trials and in drug R and D and all of that kind of stuff. There’s just no excuse anymore. There are enough women dying of this disease to warrant funding for research and tests and investigations,” Schlamm said.
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It’s also the mission of AOA Dx to increase health outcomes for women.
“One thing that’s really important to us is that we need women to actively participate in really advanced research in women’s health, right? Women have been notoriously neglected from clinical research. Solutions for women have been notoriously underdeveloped and under-researched and there’s not enough data. So, we need women to step forward and come and help us develop that data, so we can develop the right tools for them,” said Papin-Zoghbi.
They are still searching for women to participate, to see if you qualify, visit the lab’s website.
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