NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – An anonymous donor has provided $500,000 to the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to advance its genomics-based screening test for ovarian and endometrial cancers, the cancer center announced on Thursday.
The sequencing-based test, called PapGene was developed by researchers at the Kimmel Center, and the gift will be used to conduct large-scale clinical trials and laboratory research on the test.
PapGene uses cervical fluid to detect cancer-specific mutations that result in ovarian and endometrial cancers. The test uses the same liquid samples collected during many modern-day Papanicolaou, or "Pap," tests for cervical abnormalities and human papillomavirus infection. While the Pap test has widely been used to screen for cervical cancer, no such test is available for ovarian and endometrial cancers, the center noted.
Lead investigator Luis Diaz said in a statement, "With this support, we are able to move this research from the laboratory to clinical trials more quickly."
Swim Across America provided funding for the initial research.