Here’s a statistic that stops you cold. In the 1940s, about 1 in 16 people were diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. By the 1970s it was 1 in 10. Today it’s roughly 2 in 5.
But there’s a bright spot. Stage 1 cancers often have cure rates above 90%. By Stage 4, the disease has usually spread, and treatment tends to focus on managing it rather than curing it. Timing matters enormously.
That’s the gap a University of Arizona spinout, Precision Epigenomics, wants to close.
Meet EPISEEK
EPISEEK is a multicancer early detection test. From a simple blood draw, it looks for DNA methylation changes linked to more than 70 types of cancer.
From the lab to the market
The science comes from Dr. Mark Nelson, a University of Arizona professor with over 30 years of experience in cancer biology and genomics. He developed the technology with Dr. Bernard Futscher, then turned to Tech Launch Arizona to see whether it could work outside the lab. After two years in the university’s Center for Innovation, the answer was yes.
The company soft-launched in 2022 and officially launched in 2024. Next up is scaling through clinical labs. It’s still a small, physician-driven team of 22 people with roots in pathology.
Easy for patients
Most adults can take the test, except people under 21, pregnant patients, and anyone who already has cancer. Patients use a simple collection kit, and the company can even send someone to their home to help with the draw or pick up the sample.
How it stacks up
Dr. Nelson expects tests like this to become standard medical practice within four to five years. Only two or three competitors are on the market today, and he says EPISEEK stands out in four ways:
- Broader detection: more than 70 cancer types, including brain cancers
- Better early performance: nearly double the sensitivity for Stage I and II disease
- Faster results: about one week, versus two to three weeks for competitors
- Lower cost: priced significantly below competing tests
The bottom line
Cancer is becoming more common, but we’re making progress on many fronts, especially when it’s caught early. As Ken Cook’s column puts it, EPISEEK’s premise is simple: the earlier you know, the better your odds.