Gencurix, a leading molecular diagnostics firm specializing in cancer detection, announced a breakthrough in their blood-based colorectal cancer test. The company’s latest findings suggest the test can not only detect cancer but also monitor early recurrence after surgery.
Gencurix unveiled the preliminary results of their COLO eDX blood-based colorectal cancer molecular diagnostic test at the International Colorectal Research Symposium (iCRS 2026), organized by the Korean Society of Coloproctology on Tuesday.
The study, a collaborative effort with Inje University’s Haeundae Paik Hospital, involved developing a novel testing method. This method detects DNA methylation biomarkers, identified through extensive epigenomic analysis, using digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. The team then evaluated its performance on clinical samples.
Researchers assessed the test’s cancer detection capabilities pre-surgery and its potential for early recurrence monitoring in colorectal cancer patients post-surgery. The results were promising, with a sensitivity of 79.4% and specificity of 92.6% when analyzing pre-surgery colorectal cancer patients against healthy controls.
In post-operative recurrence monitoring, three out of four patients who experienced recurrence within a year showed consistently high levels indicative of COLO eDX positivity before clinical confirmation of recurrence. The company sees this as strong evidence for the test’s potential in both cancer detection and early recurrence monitoring.
Colorectal cancer patients face recurrence risks even after radical surgery, necessitating ongoing surveillance. While current monitoring methods include blood tests for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and computed tomography (CT) scans, they often fall short in detecting minimal residual disease or early recurrence. This limitation has sparked growing interest in liquid biopsy technologies that can identify cancer-related molecular signals in blood samples.
Dr. Song Ji-hyung from Inje University’s Haeundae Paik Hospital, who presented the study, emphasized the significance of detecting blood-based molecular signals before clinical confirmation of recurrence. He stated that it plans to validate the clinical utility of our recurrence monitoring approach through expanded studies involving more patients and longer follow-up periods.
Jin-il Han, a director at Gencurix, expressed confidence in their proprietary methylation biomarkers and digital PCR technology. He outlined plans to refine the blood-based test through rigorous clinical validation and data collection, aiming to create a comprehensive tool for both colorectal cancer diagnosis and post-surgical monitoring.
Established in 2011, Gencurix has been at the forefront of molecular diagnostics in Korea, notably developing the country’s first prognostic diagnostic kit for breast cancer. The company has built a strong reputation in prognostic and companion diagnostics, leveraging its cancer detection technology. Gencurix continues to expand its product development capabilities to address a wide range of cancer types.
