Tech Update: New tools could detect cancer sooner — a boon for diagnoses in overtaxed ERs

When it comes to cancer, the sooner you catch it, the better.
This may seem like a given, but the stats hammer home the importance of early discovery: comprehensive analysis released by Statistics Canada in 2023 found that the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with stage I lung and bronchial cancer was just over 60 per cent, compared to a sobering 16.3 per cent when the disease has progressed to stage III at the time of diagnosis.
This data underscores the significance of a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which revealed that a third of new Ontario cancer patients had visited an emergency room in the 90 days prior to being diagnosed with the disease. Half of those individuals were admitted as inpatients — likely due to symptoms related to their then-undiagnosed cancer.
Those from rural and northern Ontario as well as those from “racial and ethnic minority populations” were more likely to have found themselves in the ER shortly before a cancer diagnosis.
Given the current crisis in family medicine, wherein 6.5 million Canadians do not have a primary-care physician, this country’s ERs have become de facto walk-in clinics. Doctors are increasingly diagnosing patients in this context — a distressing place to receive such life-altering news.
Worse, many patients are treated for their obvious symptoms but are sent home without an accurate diagnosis, which means their cancer remains untreated until those symptoms get worse, sending them back to a care provider (or specialist) to learn more.
A multi-pronged approach will be necessary to effectively address this issue.
Governments across the country are exploring how to tackle the primary-care conundrum. In the meantime, Canadian innovators are developing tools that could more efficiently and easily diagnose cancer, without the need for specialized oncology training.
One example is  Oxford Cancer Analytics, a healthtech company with offices in Toronto and Oxford, U.K., which has come up with an accurate way to detect genetic markers indicative of lung cancer at a very early stage, by way of a relatively simple blood test, a liquid biopsy and machine learning.
With colon cancer, early-stage intervention makes a world of difference. Those diagnosed with the disease at stage I have a five-year survival rate of nearly 95 per cent, compared to less than 70 per cent for stage III diagnoses.
Right now, determining the stage of colon cancer is literally done by hand: Pathologists remove a tumour and surrounding fat tissues, which they dig through for hours in search of tiny lymph nodes that are counted in order to determine the progression of the disease — and the recommended course of treatment.
But because of human error, some lymph nodes aren’t counted in between 30 and 60 per cent of patients. London, Ont.–based Tenomix has come up with a bench-top robotic scanning device that can help pathology teams effectively and accurately diagnose and determine the stage of cancer.
The company’s invention, the Lymphonator, uses ultrasound imaging and AI to automate the process of analyzing tissue.
“The goal is to free up pathology staff’s time,” says Tenomix CEO Saumik Biswas, who adds that the device is meant to seamlessly fit into a pathologist’s workflow.
While Tenomix is focused on colon cancer right now (which is on the rise in young adults), Biswas says the Lymphonator has the potential to scan any type of cancer tissue.
“Our healthcare system is designed for reactive approaches,” says Biswas, pointing out that pre-diagnosis patients visiting the ER are there because they’re reacting to their symptoms. “We need to think of a way we can build infrastructure that’s more proactive.”
It’s Diabetes Awareness Month, and a new strategic investment as part of Zucara’s Series B fundraising could signal good news for those struggling with the disease.
The Canadian company has developed ZT-01, a once-daily therapeutic to prevent insulin-induced hypoglycemia.
ZT-01 inhibits somatostatin, which is dysregulated in Type 1 diabetes; the medication could drastically improve management of the disease and improve patients’ health and quality of life.
Toronto-based Wattpad has announced a new co-president. Aron Levitz, who has been with the company for seven years as the president of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, will share the role with KB Nam.
Business giant Deloitte has unveiled its latest Fast 50 list, a round up of Canada’s 50 fastest-growing tech companies with the biggest revenue growth within a four-year period.
The number one spot went to Neo, a Calgary-based fintech startup that recently landed $362-million in Series D financing. The remaining fast 49 include TealBook (#3), DealMaker (#13), ZayZoon (#14), DOZR (#24), PocketHealth (#28), Plooto (#39) and Mindbridge (#48).
$3 million: The amount that B.C.’s Centre for Innovation plans to invest in climate tech and clean energy ventures led by women, which it is currently soliciting through an open “call for innovation” to B.C.-based companies.
$1.6 million: The amount of pre-seed funding raised in a recent round by runQL, a Kitchener-Waterloo-based startup that has developed a platform to help manage data queries.
$15 million: How much insurer Blue Cross Life has invested in PolicyMe, a startup that recommends insurance products using its proprietary algorithm.
100 million: The number of steps that kids using Trexo Robotics’ pediatric devices have taken. The Mississauga-based startup’s robotic gait training device helps children with physical disabilities improve walking skills, mobility, strength and endurance.