Lumicell Announces Promising Feasibility Trial Findings Using Pegulicianine in Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients

Pioneering real-time detection of cancer brings promise to enabling a more complete resection in gastrointestinal cancer surgery

NEWTON, Mass., April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumicell, Inc., a leader in developing innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for cancer detection, today announced the release of early clinical trial findings from the ex vivo feasibility study for molecular imaging in gastric cancer. 

Today, Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, and David A. Drew, Ph.D. of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and Division of Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital, presented during the session "Advances in the Detection and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancers" as a part of the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Gastric Cancer Open Scientific Session at this year's American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.

Dr. Drew presented compelling new findings highlighting the potential of cathepsin activity as a biomarker for gastric cancer, confirmed through single-cell analysis in patient samples and molecular profiling in genetically engineered mouse models. These findings support the use of pegulicianine-fluorescence imaging in detecting early-stage and neoadjuvant-treated gastric tumors.

In collaboration with Lumicell, Dr. Drew and Dr. Chan led the first clinical trial of pegulicianine in gastrointestinal cancer patients (NCT02584244). In this study, patients with diffuse and intestinal-type gastric cancers received intravenous pegulicianine prior to undergoing curative-intent surgical resection. Post-surgical specimens imaged ex vivo demonstrated strong, tumor-specific fluorescence signals, correlating with pathologically confirmed cancerous tissue. Importantly, pegulicianine was well tolerated by all study participants.

"Most gastric cancers are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage, with five-year survival rates below 30%," said Dr. Chan. "Current screening approaches, such as random biopsies during upper endoscopy, lack sensitivity. These findings represent a shift toward enabling early and more accurate detection."

Dr. Drew added, "We are thrilled to share these feasibility results. This work is propelling us toward real-time, in vivo endoscopic imaging, which could improve early detection strategies of gastric and gastroesophageal cancers in the at-risk patient population."

The next stage of this research is in progress, involving an in vivo clinical trial of pegulicianine and Lumicell's newly developed endoscopic imaging system.   

About Lumicell Inc.

Lumicell is a privately held company focused on developing innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for the detection of cancerous tissue during surgery. The company's lead products are used to illuminate cancerous tissue within the breast cavity during the initial lumpectomy procedure, as an adjunct to the Standard of Care. Lumicell's proprietary, pan-oncologic optical imaging agent is also being explored for further development across a wide variety of solid tumor indications. For more information, please visit www.Lumicell.com and follow the company on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Lumicell's current views about future events and are subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that may cause its actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the regulatory process to approve pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices. Indication expansion involving gastrointestinal cancers require additional studies and FDA approval.

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SOURCE Lumicell, Inc.