Eric Brouzes, Ph.D.

Project: Early Cervical Cancer Detection Using a Single Non-invasive Test
Named Award: Monalita & Fansly's Spicy Grant for Cancer Prevention
Position: Professor
Institution: Stony Brook University, New York, N.Y.

Forschungsübersicht

Our team aims to develop a new point-of-care (POC) test for detecting cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is most often caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The test being developed is significant because it addresses the limitations of current screening methods, such as Pap tests and HPV tests. These methods can be cumbersome, expensive, and invasive and cannot distinguish between transient and persistent HPV infections, resulting in unnecessary follow-up procedures and anxiety for patients.

This POC test will be unique because it will measure the levels of HPV E6/E7 mRNA, a biomarker that directly correlates with the progression of cervical cancer. The testing device will be portable and handheld, making it inexpensive and usable in low-resource settings.

The POC test improves cervical cancer screening accessibility in the following ways:

Empowers women to self-test on their terms by allowing various self-sampling methods, including using cervical brushes, tampons, sanitary pads, and urine.
Provides convenience and flexibility by enabling women to complete the test at home or in their healthcare provider’s office.
Reduces health care burdens by accurately identifying women with biomarkers related to cervical cancer with a single test, eliminating the need for unnecessary follow-up tests, reducing anxiety, and optimizing resource allocation.

This innovative test has the potential to significantly improve cervical cancer screening rates and contribute to eliminating cervical cancer worldwide, a goal set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mein „Warum“

Cancer afflicts many people, including some relatives and close friends. My drive is to contribute to tackling this disease or make it more manageable by developing novel technologies. No one should die of cervical cancer because it’s a treatable disease if detected early. Cervical cancer disproportionally affects individuals in low-resource settings. Our novel device creates an opportunity to address this disparity and make a meaningful impact.

Warum die Finanzierung wichtig ist

The Prevent Cancer Foundation funding will allow our team to perform an initial validation of our early detection platform. We are hopeful this will trigger a virtuous funding cycle to translate our research into an impactful solution for women in low-resource settings. We will be able to develop our novel device that measures key biomarkers to ultimately predict individuals with the highest likelihood of developing cervical cancer, focus medical resources on those patients, and avoid invasive procedures for most women who have only a transient HPV infection.