Granulin-epithelin precursor (GEP) overexpression as a target for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma
- Field
- Therapeutic Biologics , Diagnostics
- Patent
- IP00159
Key Problem and Market Opportunity
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide, with about half a million new cases and almost as many deaths per year.
- Surgical resurrection is the major curative treatment available, however due to late detection 80% of these tumors are inoperable.
- Therefore, there is a need for early diagnosis of HCC for improved survival.
- Currently, Serum Alpha FetoProteinc(AFP) is widely used for HCC diagnosis, however it only shows sensitivity of 40-60%.
- Hence, it is essential to develop serological tests for early detection of HCC
Key Advantages of the Technology
- Granulin-epithelin precursor (GEP) is one of the highly expressed genes in HCC with gene locus at 17q21.32.
- GEP protein is a secretory protein capable of stimulating cell proliferation, and its reduced expression is associated with inhibition of tumorigenic potential.
- Chromosome gain at 17q is detected in 30-60% of liver cancers, strongly suggesting the presence of growth factor(s)/proto-oncogene(s) at this chromosome arm.
- Detection rate of serum GEP is higher than AFP (76.5% vs 44%)
Potential Product and Services
- Prognostic and diagnostic serum biomarkers for HCC
Development status and IP Strength
- CN Patent No. ZL200580013799.7
- CN Patent No. ZL200780040670.4
- Antibodies Available