Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM) has introduced an advanced AI-powered liquid biopsy

Lung cancer continues to be a significant health challenge in Asia, contributing to more than 60% of global cases and deaths each year.

AI-powered liquid biopsy relies on next-generation sequencing and multi-modal AI to detect ctDNA – tiny fragments of tumor-derived DNA present in the bloodstream – from just a 10 ml blood sample.

According to LCNM, the technology has demonstrated over 90% accuracy in both sensitivity and specificity, making it a promising tool to complement imaging scans and enhance screening efforts.

In Malaysia, lung cancer is the second most common cancer among men and the third among women, based on data from the Malaysian National Cancer Registry (2017-2021).

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men, while only breast cancer claims more lives among women.

“The dismal prognosis is largely driven by late-stage diagnosis in almost 95 per cent of cases. With targeted screenings, we can create meaningful stage shifts to detect more cases at an early stage when the disease is amenable to curative therapy.” – said Prof Dr Anand Sachithanandan, a cardiothoracic surgeon and LCNM founding president.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has put forward a National Lung Health Initiative (LHI) aimed at improving early detection of lung cancer, a move welcomed by Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM).

Since 2019, LCNM used low-dose CT (LDCT) scans and more recently incorporating AI-powered chest X-rays to identify high-risk individuals. Their experience suggests that people are generally more willing to undergo a chest X-ray than an LDCT scan as a first step in screening.

Despite this, Dr. Anand emphasized that LDCT remains the gold standard for detecting lung cancer. He also stressed that beyond early detection, reducing the time between diagnosis and treatment is crucial for improving survival rates.

“Screening initiatives must be targeted towards ‘at risk’ groups to be cost-effective and truly beneficial and should involve relevant organisations like LCNM who have the necessary expertise and experience.

Screening, after all, is a process and not an isolated investigation. Managing the equivocal or indeterminate scan and associated anxiety requires thoughtful consideration and specialist knowledge.” – he said.

LCNM’s newly introduced AI-enhanced liquid biopsy is particularly useful for individuals with abnormal chest X-ray results. This technology analyzes a small 10 ml blood sample to detect molecular markers of lung cancer, distinguishing tumor-derived ctDNA from normal DNA.

“Waiting times for operation theatre slots for definitive curative surgery or how quickly a patient can access pre-operative neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, if indicated, are important real-world factors.

For timely diagnosis and intervention, adequate resources, close collaboration between government hospitals and high-volume one-stop private centres of excellence, and a well-defined patient care pathway are requisite to ensure a swift and seamless patient journey,” – Dr Anand said.

With healthcare costs on the rise, early screening could also help reduce the financial burden of treating late-stage lung cancer, which is not only more expensive but often difficult to cure, Dr. Anand noted.

“The technology has immense potential to refine and augment existing screening, including addressing the unmet need to diagnose lung cancer earlier in high-risk non-smokers, a cohort neglected by traditional screening criteria.

This is of particular importance given the increasing number of lung cancer cases occurring in never-smokers, predominantly women, globally, including here in Malaysia. A family history of lung cancer seems highly pertinent for this group.” – Dr Anand said.

LCNM remains optimistic that the MOH has taken the necessary steps to plan for workforce and infrastructure needs and has secured sufficient funding to support large-scale screening efforts.

Further Reading:

Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer: Patient Version

Large Cell Lung Carcinoma: What patients should know about

Adenocarcinoma of the Lung: What patients should know about

The first case of Lung Cancer detected by AI in Malaysia