- Poster demonstrates the highly sensitive and accurate deep learning model for cancer detection and multi-cancer classification combining different types of cf-DNA features

YONGIN, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GC Genome, a leading company in Genomic Diagnostics, is pleased to announce that the company presented the deep learning algorithm that detects and classifies multi-cancer using cf-WGS (cell free DNA whole genome sequencing), summarized in a poster session held at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The data from the presentation show that it detects abnormal patterns of cancer more sensitively and accurately than original liquid biopsy as it applies deep learning algorithm on whole genome sequencing data, which uncovers structural variants with distinct tumor type.

In addition, this biopsy can detect the existence of 9 major cancers (△ lung cancer △ colorectal cancer △ breast cancer △liver cancer △ pancreatic cancer △ cholangiocarcinoma △ head and neck cancer △ ovarian cancer △ esophageal cancer) through whole genome sequencing (WGS) from circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood. Further, its ‘Multi-cancer prediction’ model can predict the tumor-derived tissues related to the 6 specific types of cancers. (△ lung cancer △ breast cancer △ liver cancer △ pancreatic cancer △ ovarian cancer △ esophageal cancer)

“We are excited to introduce the AI-based liquid biopsy with GC Genome’s original technology applied,” said Eun-Hae Cho, Chief Technology Officer at GC Genome Research Center, “The data to be presented at this year’s AACR meeting demonstrates a major step forward in our commitment to offering clinicians and patients a highly sensitive multi-cancer screening test where we believe cancer screening can save lives.”

About GC Genome

GC Genome is specialized in Clinical Genomics, which was established in August 2013 as a new member of GC Family, headquartered in Yong-in, South Korea. GC Genome is moving toward the goal of utilizing genomic information for disease diagnosis, disease screening and also precision medicine. GC Genome leverages on the most up to date technologies including Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to provide distinguished services with shortened turnaround time, and affordable prices. Moreover, GC Genome continues to invest heavily on R&D activities to develop services to fulfil the unmet needs of people and participate in the advancement of various global and national research projects.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of GC Genome's management. Such statements do not represent any guarantee by GC Genome or its management of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. GC Genome undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule.

- A large Korean population study provides scientific evidence that altering the gut microbiome composition through dietary habit change can help prevent and manage the hypertension

YONGIN, South Korea, June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GC Genome Corporation, a leading genomic diagnostics company, announced the publication of a study in Frontiers in Microbiomes. This study demonstrates the association between gut microbiome and Hypertension, underscoring the importance of the gut microbiome in relation to hypertension in collaboration with the research team at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. It suggests that modifying dietary habits to alter enterotypes could serve as effective practical approach for managing and preventing hypertension. These findings carry potential implications for individuals seeking to improve their cardiovascular health.

"Hypertension is a complex condition influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. And recent studies suggest that gut bacteria play a role in regulating blood pressure," said Ju Sun Song, MD, Senior director of the research institute at GC Genome. "This research provides the scientific evidence in the large Korean population for the first time that modifying dietary habits, such as consuming fruits, vegetables, and following a traditional Korean diet, can aid in the prevention and management of hypertension."

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a global health concern affecting an estimated 1.13 billion individuals worldwide, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). It increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, and poses a tremendous public health burden. South Korea, in particular, has witnessed a high prevalence of hypertension due to an aging population and the adoption of a westernized lifestyle. The number of hypertension patients surpassed 12 million in 2018 and continues to rise steadily.

In this study, researchers recruited over 600 Korean patients who underwent medical checkups, and their gut microbiomes were analyzed using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology. The team compared four enterotypes based on dietary habits: Prevotella, Bacteroides1, Bacteroides2, and Ruminococcaceae. The results indicated that the Bacteroides2 enterotype, characterized by high animal fat consumption and low microbial diversity, strongest associated with hypertension. Conversely, the Ruminococcaceae-dominant enterotype, linked to a higher intake of vegetables and fruits, displayed the lowest association with hypertension. Notably, these findings align with the recommendations in the 2017 hypertension clinical guidelines, which suggest increasing the consumption of vegetables, fresh fruits, fish, nuts, and unsaturated fatty acids while reducing the intake of red meat.

In addition, it was also confirmed that hypertension occurring in the Bacteroides 2 enterotype had a significantly lower ratio of Faecalibacterium rather than other enterotypes. Faecalibacterium ferments dietary fiber that has reached the large intestine without being digested or absorbed, thereby producing short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) having anti-inflammatory effects and is promising beneficial bacterium that is in the spotlight as a next-generation probiotics. Therefore, the study also emphasizes the importance of considering enterotypes in clinical studies exploring hypertension interventions, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) or Faecalibacterium. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the interaction of gut microbiome with the food we eat and our health.

[About GC Genome] 

GC Genome is a leading diagnostics company that aims to connect the care and cure to the world by offering genetic diagnosis services for Oncology, Pre&Neonatal, Rare Diseases, and Health Check-ups and suggesting personalized treatment for longer and healthier lives. The company was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of the GC group, a prominent healthcare organization worldwide. GC Genome operates a CAP-accredited laboratory and places the utmost emphasis on R&D. The company has forged robust partnerships with national hospitals and universities, and has shown impressive growth momentum by steadily increasing its test volumes.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of GC Genome's management. Such statements do not represent any guarantee by GC Genome or its management of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. GC Genome undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule.

GC Genome-KAIST team Announces Publication of a Groundbreaking AI-Based Liquid Biopsy Technology for Multi-Cancer Early Detection and Localization in Nature Communications

YONGIN, South Korea, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GC Genome Corporation, a leading genomic diagnostics company, today announced the publication of a new study in Nature Communications, showcasing the company's novel AI-based liquid biopsy technology. The study highlights the unprecedented accuracy of the technology for cancer early detection and tissue-of-origin localization utilizing advanced AI algorithms to analyze mutation density and patterns of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and epigenomes in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Noninvasive screening by cfDNA holds great promise for multi-cancer early detection. The cancer early detection of various types is an important part of cancer treatment since cancer has a better prognosis and survival rate when diagnosed and treated earlier[1].[2]. However, de novo detection of cancer, especially at early stages, remains challenging and the solution for this urgent need is being actively pursued by using cfDNA-based noninvasive cancer screening for Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) and localization of cancer[3]. 

"Since cancer screening technologies are limited or premature, diagnostic tests are usually performed after symptoms arise, and early intervention opportunities are often missed, leaving few treatment options," said Dr. Jung Kyoon Choi, Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST. "We hope that our methods leveraging large-scale tumor genomes and epigenomes as reference data lay the groundwork for accurate cfDNA-based cancer diagnosis at early stages."

The Nature Communication study includes a total of 2,543 cancer patient samples and 1,241 normal control samples and describes an ensemble algorithm that incorporates genomic and epigenomic profiles of tumor tissues into a deep learning model. This model analyzes mutation distribution and chromatin organization in reference tumor tissues and uses them as model features to detect the existence of cancer and determine the type of cancer in cfDNA samples. 

The technology has demonstrated promising results in detecting multiple types of cancer at an early stage. The technology has shown exceptional sensitivity, achieving a 91.1% performance rate based on a 95% specificity and a high level of accuracy, with an 81.7% success rate in predicting both the presence and type of cancer. 

"These results suggest that the GC Genome AI-based cancer early detection technology could help reduce cancer deaths by offering a convenient, high-performing test to people," said Dr. Eun-Hae Cho, MD, Chief Technical Officer at GC Genome. "We will continue our research to improve accuracy and sensitivity and look forward to making our technology accessible to all cancer patients worldwide."

[Reference]

[1]. Sankaranarayanan, R. et al. Cancer survival in Africa, Asia, and Central America: a population-based study. Lancet Oncology 11, 165–173 (2010).

[2]. Bray, F. et al. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 68, 394–424 (2018).

[3]. Hackshaw, A., Clarke, C. A. & Hartman, A. R. New genomic technologies for multi-cancer early detection: Rethinking the scope of cancer screening. Cancer Cell vol. 40 109–113 Preprint at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2022.01.012 (2022).

[About GC Genome] 

GC Genome is a leading diagnostics company that aims to connect the care and cure to the world by offering genetic diagnosis services for Oncology, Pre&Neonatal, Rare Diseases, and Health Check-ups and suggesting personalized treatment for longer and healthier lives. The company was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of the GC group, a prominent healthcare organization worldwide. GC Genome operates a CAP-accredited laboratory and places the utmost emphasis on R&D. The company has forged robust partnerships with national hospitals and universities and has shown impressive growth momentum by steadily increasing its test volumes.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of GC Genome's management. Such statements do not represent any guarantee by GC Genome or its management of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. GC Genome undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule.

YONGIN, South Korea, April 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GC Genome Corporation, a leading genomic diagnostics company, announced the publication of a new study in Radiation Oncology Journal, which demonstrates the feasibility of cell-free DNA(cfDNA) monitoring to predict treatment response and detect minimal residual disease after radiation therapy(RT) in solid tumor patients using I-score, a tool for calculating genomic instabilities developed by GC Genome. The research was in collaboration with the Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine. This study adds to the previous studies of prognostic effects of the I-score in various solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma1.2.3.

The study analyzed 23 plasma samples from cancer patients across a range of lung, esophageal, and head and neck cancer, and plasma samples from 358 healthy people were used as negative controls. Test performance was evaluated at serial cfDNA monitoring points: before RT, 1 week after RT, and 1 month after completion of RT using I-score, which represents chromosomal alterations across the genome(CIN) of cfDNA from Low-coverage whole genome sequencing(LC-WGS) data.

The result showed that pretreatment I-scores tended to be higher in larger tumors, and there was a significant positive correlation between the gross tumor volume and the baseline I-score. Another interesting finding is that minimal residual disease following RT was detected earlier by cfDNA than by imaging studies. And the serial monitoring of the I-score in the post-treatment 4 months case demonstrated that the change in I-score was observed before the progression of the disease was detectable through imaging studies. 

"The findings of this study may have significant implications for the field of oncology, particularly for patients with lung, esophageal, and head and neck cancer," said Dr. Chang-Seok Ki, MD, CEO at GC Genome. "Further additional studies are ongoing to optimize the measurement and analysis of I-scores to predict radiation response accurately. The potential of cfDNA I-score as a monitoring tool in cancer treatment deserves continued investigation and attention."

[Reference]

1. Kim EJ, Im HS, Lee J, et al. Genome-wide and size-based cell-free DNA indices as predictive biomarkers for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with preoperative or definitive chemoradiotherapy. Curr Probl Cancer 2021;45:100685.

2. Oh CR, Kong SY, Im HS, et al. Genome-wide copy number alteration and VEGFA amplification of circulating cell-free DNA as a biomarker in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with Sorafenib. BMC Cancer 2019;19:292.

3. Woo SM, Kim MK, Park B, et al. Genomic instability of circulating tumor DNA as a prognostic marker for pancreatic cancer survival: a prospective cohort study. Cancers (Basel) 2021;13:5466.

[About GC Genome]

GC Genome is a leading diagnostics company that aims to connect the care and cure to the world by offering genetic diagnosis services for Oncology, Pre&Neonatal, Rare Diseases, and Health Check-ups and suggesting personalized treatment for longer and healthier lives. The company was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of the GC group, a prominent healthcare organization worldwide. GC Genome operates a CAP-accredited laboratory and places the utmost emphasis on R&D. The company has forged robust partnerships with national hospitals and universities and has shown impressive growth momentum by steadily increasing its test volumes.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of GC Genome's management. Such statements do not represent any guarantee by GC Genome or its management of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. GC Genome undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule.