Latest news with #cancerScreening
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Project to boost cancer screening uptake for South Asian Muslim women
A University of Bradford research project has sought to increase cancer screening uptake among South Asian Muslim women in Bradford, by engaging men in their families. The three-year Muslim Families Screening For Life project, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, asked South Asian Muslim men to speak to women in their family about the importance of attending cancer screening appointments. The project was delivered in partnership with organisations including Faith in Communities, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Sharing Voices Bradford, and the British Islamic Medical Association. A total of 1,072 males aged 16 and over took part, and 58 workshops were held at Bradford district venues, including mosques, gyms, and community centres. Findings of the project were presented at an event held at the University of Bradford on Tuesday, June 24. Dr Mel Cooper, reader in maternity and migrant health at the University of Bradford and joint project lead, said: "This project has seen grassroots-level organisations working together with the same purpose. "We are delighted to reach 1,072 men, which was above our target of 1,000. "We hope the word has spread through the communities and more women have taken up screenings after this project and we have helped to save lives." Participants were encouraged to speak with six women in their families about the importance of attending cancer screenings. Cancer screening rates for breast, cervical, and bowel cancer among Muslim women in Bradford are thought to be relatively low: in the BD2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 postcode areas alone, 18,500 screenings are currently overdue, according to a spokesperson from the University of Bradford. Zahid Khan, a community development worker with Sharing Voices Bradford, who helped to deliver the workshops, said: "The men have been receptive. "Men have come up to us after the sessions and said the project is important and they were glad that we're talking about it." Sixth form students at Bradford schools and colleges, and students at the University of Bradford, also contributed to the research, which included questionnaires and interviews to assess knowledge and understanding of the need for the project. Dr Stuart Griffiths, director of research at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: "The government must fund and quickly introduce innovations in screening to help reduce health inequalities so more people in Yorkshire live longer, healthier lives, free of cancer." Early findings have been analysed by the University of Bradford and will inform future projects.
Forbes
01-07-2025
- Health
- Forbes
SpotitEarly Breath Test Uses AI And Dogs For Early Cancer Detection
SpotitEarly CEO Shlomi Madar with his late grandfather The next breakthrough in cancer screening is emerging from the convergence of artificial intelligence and canine biology. That's the thesis behind SpotitEarly, a startup that recently launched in the U.S. with $20 million in funding. The company's hybrid platform combines trained dogs with artificial intelligence to deliver an early cancer detection breath test with 94% accuracy, targeting breast, colorectal, prostate and lung cancers. More than 70% of cancers are still diagnosed after symptoms appear—when survival rates plummet. In the U.S., the average cancer screening rate among eligible adults remains below 60%, despite massive investments in awareness and infrastructure. And while diagnostics innovation has exploded, access has not. Many tools are either cost-prohibitive, unproven, or designed for a healthcare experience that caters to the few. In an era where longevity startups cater to the 1% with concierge diagnostics and $2,500 full-body scans, SpotitEarly is flipping the script. Its goal: to bring cutting-edge early detection to the millions who never make it to screening in time—not just those with the means to optimize wellness. SpotitEarly are beagles trained to detect cancer. SpotitEarly is poised to shake up a diagnostics market plagued by high costs, access disparities and screening inertia—with a scientifically validated, double-blind clinical trial to back it. 'After years in cancer care, I've seen firsthand how late diagnoses steal lives. SpotitEarly is changing that. By combining AI with a dog's powerful sense of smell, they're making early detection for multiple cancers faster, more accessible, and more affordable than anything I've seen in the field. This is a true breakthrough—and a chance to save lives at scale,' said Dr. David Sidransky, Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins Medical School and current advisory board member at SpotitEarly. Revolutionizing Non-Invasive Cancer Screening With Dogs And AI SpotitEarly enables users to collect a breath sample at home and mail it to the company's lab. There, trained beagles detect cancer-linked volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while the company's LUCID platform digitizes the dogs' behavioral data and uses AI to interpret the results. The company's approach was tested in a double-blind clinical trial involving 1,400 participants in Israel, conducted in collaboration with Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Rambam Health Care Campus and Hadassah Medical Center. Neither the dog trainers, sample handlers, AI system operators, nor analysts knew whether the samples came from individuals with cancer or healthy controls. All samples were randomized, anonymized and processed independently to ensure clean, unbiased results. The study achieved 94% sensitivity and specificity across four major cancers—breast, colorectal, prostate and lung—and the results were published in Scientific Reports in November 2024. SpotitEarly Founder and CEO Shlomi Madar 'This wasn't an anecdotal pilot,' said CEO Shlomi Madar, PhD. 'We conducted a rigorous, double-blind, multi-site trial with academic partners to validate our platform scientifically. That level of proof is what makes us different from the many promising but unproven efforts in this space.' In the end, SpotitEarly isn't just about better diagnostics—it's about giving families more time together. Why Can Dogs Detect Cancer Better Than Machines Alone? Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors—tens of thousands more than humans. They can detect scent at concentrations as low as parts per trillion, which is why they've long been used to find explosives, contraband and even viral infections. Decades of studies have shown that dogs can identify the presence of cancer by smell, often before clinical symptoms appear. SpotitEarly is among the first to pair that natural ability with digital infrastructure and machine learning. Each canine's sniffing behavior is tracked by sensors and algorithms that quantify subtle physiological cues, such as sniff duration, hesitation or posture. These data streams power the company's proprietary LUCID platform, which converts biological inputs into a structured diagnostic signal. SpotitEarly estimates that one canine-AI lab can process over one million samples annually, with turnaround times of just a few days. A Mission Rooted In Personal Loss And Innovation What began as a search for better diagnostics became his introduction to a company grounded in biology, technology and accessibility. For Shlomi Madar, PhD, the pursuit of earlier cancer detection is deeply personal. He lost his grandfather to cancer, a diagnosis that came only after symptoms had already advanced. By then, treatment options were limited, and time was short. SpotitEarly CEO Dr. Shlomi Madar with his late grandparents Losing him at a relatively young age was devastating for Shlomi's family – but ultimately sparked his passion for cancer research. Learning of their shared vision to leverage their unique skills in a groundbreaking venture for the greater good, Shlomi joined the 4 founders of SpotitEarly, whose team discovered the untapped potential of canine scent detection—and the power of pairing it with machine learning to create a scalable, noninvasive diagnostic platform. Their mission was to make early detection accessible to everyone, not just the fortunate few. SpotitEarly plans to make its at-home cancer detection test available directly to customers through a physician network starting in 2026. A single-cancer test will cost about $250, while a comprehensive panel for all four cancers will cost around $500. No clinic visit or specialist referral is required. The company will continue to partner with health systems and research institutions to enhance accessibility and validate its technology. If a breath test detects potential cancer biomarkers, users will receive clear, secure results along with guidance on what to do next. Results can be easily shared with a physician, who can then recommend diagnostic follow-ups and a personalized care plan. The product is not yet covered by insurance, though the company is in active conversations with payers. Even without reimbursement, SpotitEarly's pricing undercuts most early detection tools. It's positioned as a low-barrier, high-sensitivity option, particularly attractive for younger or underserved patients who may not qualify for traditional screenings. The at-home format eliminates friction. Users receive a kit, provide a breath sample in minutes and return it by mail. Results will be delivered within days. The early detection market is growing rapidly, with players like Grail's Galleri offering liquid biopsies and startups like Prenuvo providing full-body MRI scans. But these approaches are often expensive, inaccessible, or both. Prenuvo's scans cost between $1,000 and $2,500 (and up to $4,000 in premium markets), and they are typically not covered by insurance. Appointments require travel to specialized imaging centers and can take over an hour to complete. While comprehensive, the model primarily caters to the 1%—those investing in concierge diagnostics and longevity-focused wellness, rather than scalable population health tools. SpotitEarly offers a more targeted and affordable solution. Its test is: It also avoids one of the most cited concerns about full-body scans: overdiagnosis. These scans can detect benign anomalies that trigger unnecessary follow-ups and patient anxiety. SpotitEarly's method focuses on cancers with the most robust breath-based biomarkers and the clearest public health benefits when detected early. As Madar noted in a recent interview, 'Prenuvo costs patients around $2,500. Most Americans can't cover a $1,000 emergency expense.' SpotitEarly is betting that affordability, not abundance, is the future of early detection. The company has raised $20.3 million to date from backers including Hanaco Ventures, Jeff Swartz (former CEO of Timberland), and Avishai Abrahami (cofounder of Wix). Funds are being used to scale U.S. operations, conduct further validation studies and prepare for commercial rollout in 2026. SpotitEarly's use of dogs and data may seem unconventional—even a little unexpected—but the implications are anything but light. The company is tackling one of the most persistent failures in healthcare: the gap between innovation and access. Despite decades of investment in awareness and infrastructure, over 70% of cancers are still diagnosed after symptoms appear—when outcomes are far worse. In the U.S., fewer than 60% of eligible adults get the screenings they need. Meanwhile, diagnostics innovation has surged, but too often it's priced for exclusivity, not equity. Where companies like Prenuvo serve the 1% with concierge scans and longevity optimization, SpotitEarly is building for the other 99%—those for whom early detection is not just a wellness upgrade, but a matter of survival. Its breath-based platform offers a rare blend of scientific rigor, scalability, and affordability. If the model holds, SpotitEarly won't just catch cancer earlier—it could reshape how health systems approach prevention, precision, and who innovation is actually designed for. In a healthcare landscape where flashy technology often outpaces clinical validation, SpotitEarly flips the script—starting with biology, validating it with science, and scaling it through tech. SpotitEarly's use of dogs and data may seem unconventional—even a little unexpected—but the implications are anything but light. The company is tackling one of the most persistent failures in healthcare: the gap between innovation and access. Despite decades of investment in awareness and infrastructure, over 70% of cancers are still diagnosed after symptoms appear, when outcomes are far worse. In the U.S., fewer than 60% of eligible adults get the screenings they need. Meanwhile, diagnostics innovation has surged, but too often it's priced for exclusivity, not equity. Where companies like Prenuvo serve the 1% with concierge scans and longevity optimization, SpotitEarly is building for the other 99%—those for whom early detection is not just a wellness upgrade, but a matter of survival. Its breath-based platform offers a rare blend of scientific rigor, scalability, and affordability. Read more in Forbes about how AI Is Catching What Mammograms Miss and a Blood Test Could Detect Cancer Up To Seven Years Earlier
CBC
17-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Major overhaul ordered for group that sets Canada's cancer screening guidelines
Social Sharing A major overhaul is expected of the national body that issues Canada's cancer screening guidelines. The changes were ordered by the federal health minister, following an external review of the Task Force on Preventive Health Care. The task force is an arm's-length panel set up by the federal government to publish national guidelines for family doctors, advising them on when to send their patients for routine screenings of various illnesses, including common cancers. But the panel has been criticized for years for failing to fully take in expert advice, using outdated research and being too slow to update its guidelines. Many of the task force's recommendations are over a decade old. "Those cancer screenings translate into survival," said Dr. Anna Wilkinson, an Ottawa family physician who helps care for cancer patients. "We know that technology and medical science changes so rapidly," she said. "We're not keeping pace and that's impacting people's health." The health minister suspended the task force's work last year and ordered the review, after it came under mounting scrutiny for continuing to recommend routine breast cancer screening only start at 50 years of age. That guideline flew in the face of evidence that screening should start at 40 — advice supported by the Canadian Cancer Society and already implemented in several provincial breast screening programs. The cancer most commonly diagnosed in Canadians aged 30 to 49 is now breast cancer. "We know that we're seeing more and more early-age onset of breast cancer," Wilkinson said. "We need to have guidelines that are in line with those changes." A 'pressing need' The review calls on the task force to be more accountable and transparent, streamline and speed up its guideline updates and ensure experts are consulted, citing a "pressing need to modernize its approach." The task force has been criticized for other recommendations, including cervical, prostate and lung cancer screening. Its guidelines on cervical cancer, for example, haven't been updated since 2013, and recommend against screening for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. The U.K. and Australia replaced Pap tests with HPV screening in 2016 and 2017, respectively, because HPV can be detected much sooner. Wilkinson said she's hopeful the major changes to how the task force operates will save lives, especially since many primary care physicians are trained to use those guidelines when deciding to refer their patients for tests. Her own research found Canadian women who lived in provinces where breast cancer screening started at 40 had a better chance of surviving than those who were screened in their 50s. Early screening would have changed the life of Carolyn Holland. At 43, she discovered lumps in her breasts. By that point, the cancer had spread so aggressively that she needed chemotherapy, radiation and a double mastectomy. A mammogram could have caught her cancer sooner, but she had never had one. Her family physician was following the task force guidelines that said she didn't need a routine screening until 50. "Had my cancer been caught earlier with mammography at 40, my treatment and outcome would have been drastically different," Holland said. In a statement, the task force said it looks forward to helping bring about the changes, which will "bolster the task force's credibility," adding that its work is "internationally known for its rigorous evidence-based guidelines." "The recommendations in this report are not only about modernizing the approach but about ensuring that preventive health care remains responsive to evolving scientific evidence, inclusive of diverse perspectives, adaptable to real-world delivery settings and to local public health priorities," the statement reads.
CTV News
14-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘A landmark decision': advocates celebrate reform of health screening task force
Women in their 40s in Ontario can now book a mammogram without needing a doctor's referral. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press via AP) Advocates and doctors are applauding the recently released external expert panel report on the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, which calls for modernization and reform of the task force. Some of the recommendations to modernize the task force include ensuring preventive health care remains up to date with evolving scientific data and applying it to guidelines in a timely manner, the inclusion of equity-centred perspectives, patient involvement, and collaboration with pre-existing guidelines to help eliminate disparities across the country. 'This is great news,' said Dr. Anna Wilkinson, a family physician and general practitioner-oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital, in a phone interview with 'They are saying that we need to modernize the task force, and I think that's because we're recognizing that we are kind of behind the times on our cancer screening guidelines and many of our other preventive health care guidelines.' Task force halted amid criticism The task force, which is responsible for developing preventive health guidelines like cancer screening across Canada, is an independent body that develops clinical guidelines for family doctors about screening and prevention measures for cancer and other diseases. The task force's work was halted last year following criticism of its proposed incoming breast cancer screening guidelines, which did not recommend mammography screening begin at age 40. Instead, it upheld its 2018 guidelines recommending screening begin at age 50, despite growing evidence and calls from numerous medical experts and organizations urging earlier screening in response to rising breast cancer rates among younger women. This prompted then-Health Minister Mark Holland to request that the Public Health Agency launch an external expert review panel, which began in October 2024, to recommend changes and improvements to the task force's structure, governance, and methodology for developing the guidelines. Dr. Wilkinson, one of the medical experts who advised the external review panel, says she is pleased the report acknowledges the need to modernize the task force. 'We cannot afford economically as a health system to not be,' she said. 'We know that it's so much cheaper to deal with cancers when they're smaller, we know the outcomes are better, the cost to our health-care system is better.' 'I think one of the ways forward for a health-care system is to do preventive care more effectively. (…) This is a high-level view of how we might do that, so I look forward to seeing how it gets implemented.' With implementation of the recommendations currently underway, Health Minister Marjorie Michel has requested that the Public Health Agency of Canada have the task force operational by April 2026. 'Landmark change' Kimberly Carson, CEO of Breast Cancer Canada, was one of many advocates calling for the incoming breast cancer guidelines to recommend screening begin at age 40 rather than 50. Carson, who met with Holland and the external expert review panel, is content with the report's findings. 'It's going to be fantastic for Canadians,' Carson told in a phone interview. 'We know that if we catch breast cancer early, it's better for the patient, it's better for the health-care system, it costs less, there's less financial toxicity for the patients and a better cure rate. (…) It changes the paradigm for Canadian patients.' The task force began meeting on the upcoming breast cancer guidelines in May 2023. For two years, Breast Cancer Canada advocated for the inclusion of subject matter experts in guideline development, the timely integration of the latest data, and the incorporation of patient perspectives. With the report acknowledging all these points, Carson says she is satisfied that the sustained mobilization efforts have yielded results. 'It's such a landmark change in a landmark decision,' Carson said. The Canadian Cancer Society, which also stated in a media release its approval of the report, also had its recommendations reflected in the findings. Some of these recommendations echo those of Breast Cancer Canada, including the inclusion of cancer experts, patient perspectives, and staying current with evolving perspectives, experiences and scientific evidence. 'Once they reform the task force and it becomes functional in April, we would hope that they would immediately take a look at the screening guidelines for breast cancer,' Carson added. In addition to the 2018 breast cancer guidelines, the current cancer screening guidelines for other cancers — like colon cancer (2016), prostate cancer (2014), and cervical cancer (2013) — are also due for updates, Dr. Wilkinson notes. She says this report is a 'critical step' towards modernizing all of Canada's screening guidelines. 'In today's strained health-care environment, optimizing preventive care is essential to making the most of our limited resources,' she said in an email to 'The integration of diverse and evolving evidence, equitable care and ongoing evaluation pave the way for agile, 'living' guidelines that keep pace with scientific advancements. 'This approach will help ensure Canada no longer relies on cancer screening recommendations that are over a decade old.'
BreakingNews.ie
13-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Leaders share healthcare and efficiency hopes for AI at British-Irish Council
British and Irish political leaders discussed the potential of AI at a conference in Co Down on Friday. There was a particular focus on artificial intelligence at the 43rd meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC), which was established as part of the Good Friday Agreement. Advertisement Leaders discussed the potential of AI to enhance cancer screenings and help address the challenges of aging populations. At a press conference which was dominated by issues including race riots in Ballymena and legacy issues, political leaders were asked about the threat AI poses to jobs. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he had a 'glass half full' approach to AI and technology, but said it 'will change the nature of work'. 'I remember the 1980s when I was a young, emerging politician, I picked up a book on the bookshelf called The Jobs Crisis by the late Colm Keane. Advertisement 'In that book, he was predicting that we would have to train and educate for leisure, that at best, we would be working about three days a week because of the technological revolution that was then about to happen. 'And then Jack Charlton took over the Irish (football) team, and we did very well in Italia 1990 and the Irish economy took off, and lots more jobs came on stream. 'I'm not being facetious, but I'm wary of the prophets of doom about technological change. 'We've had waves of technological change throughout history that have changed the nature of work, but actually created new opportunities for different kinds of work. Advertisement 'So I would be the glass-half-full person here saying there will be different type of work.' Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said governments would need to work with trade unions to 'take workers with us'. 'It has to be of benefit, and it has to assist. It can't be a replacement of what we do traditionally,' she said. 'Some of the examples that we've cited today are around breast screening and how that can be done efficiently with AI supporting an individual.' Advertisement Northern Ireland deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said AI was developing at a 'remarkable rate'. She said they needed to 'seize the opportunity' while being aware of the risks and ethical concerns. 'The reality is that the AI revolution is happening. We can't ignore that,' she said. 'That's why Michelle and I have created the AI unit right at the heart of government to take a look at how we can harness the potential of that, particularly in public services. Advertisement 'We do need our public services to be more efficient. We need that increased productivity. 'But yes, you're absolutely right. For a lot of people, there will be an apprehension that this is about replacing people with that technology.' She added: 'This is not about just simply getting rid of people and making them redundant. This is about doing things better and harnessing an agenda which is happening at the moment. We cannot deny that reality.' Scottish First Minister John Swinney said one of the challenges facing Scotland is the size of its working age population. 'So there is obviously a debate which we are engaged in about the importance of migration, because we value that, and we think it's important. First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill speaking during the British-Irish Council (BIC) summit at the Slieve Donard resort in Co Down (Liam McBurney/PA) 'We've lost a lot of the opportunities for that because of Brexit. 'But what AI provides the ability to do is to, for example, address some of the limitations and restrictions of our working age population, to enable us to meet need and demand within society, particularly in relation to some of the innovations we talked about in relation to health screening and the use of AI for early intervention to reduce demand on health services and to and to fill gaps in provisions. 'There are multiple challenges that will come at governments, one of which will be the ethics and the deployment of AI, but they'll also collide with other issues such as the challenges of the size of our working age population, which for Scotland, is a very significant strategic issue that we are trying to address.' Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris and representatives of the Governments of Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man also attended the conference in Co Down. Mr Martin said relations across the islands are in 'a good place' but more can be done to 'deepen cooperation and unlock potential' to everyone's benefit.
