SU2C Team Developing Early-Stage Detection Technology for Gastric Cancer
Gastric cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Often detected too late, it has a five-year survival rate of only 32%. Early-stage detection presents a significant opportunity to change these outcomes.
Andrew Chan, M.D., M.P.H, a gastroenterologist physician-epidemiologist at Mass General Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, leads the SU2C Gastric Cancer Interception Research Team. This interdisciplinary, collaborative team represents some of the best minds in gastric cancer nationwide.
“Early detection is vital to improving outcomes for gastric cancer—yet until now, too little research funding has been allocated to it. I am proud to lead a SU2C team that has a vision to turn gastric cancer from an often-fatal disease into a manageable, even curable one.” — Andrew Chan, M.D., M.P.H
Together, the team is working to identify warning signs of gastric cancer, such as DNA fragments or cells that circulate in the bloodstream after they are shed by a tumor. The team has created a novel, early-stage detection technology that uses a pill-sized camera capsule and a marker that “lights up” these cancer fragments, making early-stage gastric cancer visible—and treatable—for the first time. If validated in a clinical trial, this technology will help doctors screen patients at high risk of gastric cancer and save lives through early intervention.
Our Mission
Stand Up To Cancer raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients.
