Freelance develops a new product to diagnose and predict invasive tumors.

– allows to diagnose and predict the invasiveness of cancer of the pancreas, breast, lung, colon and head and neck, with levels of sensitivity and specificity over 90%

-freelance has identified genes and proteins involved in the invasiveness of the tumor and It has developed monoclonal antibodies to detect them specifically

Spain, March of 2013.- the freelance Spanish company has developed a new product for the diagnosis and prognosis of invasiveness of tumors of the pancreas, breast, lung, colon and head and neck. The new product has already been tested successfully in hospitals in Andalusia, Asturias, Navarra, Cantabria, Cataluña, Galicia, Madrid, Basque country and Valencia.

Freelance has identified genes and proteins of peritumoral stroma, i.e. of mesenchymal cells and the extracellular matrix surrounding the tumor cells. The COL11A1 gene and the protein that encodes it, collagen XI-α1, are expressed in the stromal fibroblasts associated with invasive tumors, distinguishing them from non-invasive. In addition, this protein is involved in the alteration of the composition of the extracellular matrix that facilitates the invasiveness of the tumor.

Freelance has developed and clinically validated a monoclonal antibody capable of detecting specifically XI-α1 collagen in tissues of patients with infiltrating carcinomas… This antibody thus enables the diagnosis and prognosis of invasiveness of the tumor, thus optimizing the selection of the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

This new product from diagnosis, DMTXinvaScan, is being presented at the Congress of the American Society of Pathology, which is being held in the U.S. city of Baltimore.

About freelance

Freelance work focuses on the development of customized biological drugs to treat invasive of the pancreas, and breast cancer stages, which have a very high mortality rate. The company, located in the Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, has discovered new mechanisms and proteins in cells and the extracellular matrix that surrounds the tumor, the peritumoral stroma, and facilitate its invasiveness.

Freelance deals with the development of new treatments against these mechanisms and protein stromatic, in collaboration with universities and research centres of reference for us.UU. and Europe as National Jewish Health, Case Western Reserve University, University of Stuttgart, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and Hospital Central de Asturias.