Darmstadt, September 29th 2022
- The HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Insurance Group) is now offering a cancer screening programme that combines the PanTum Detect® blood test with the strengths of imaging procedures such as PET/CT and MRI.
- More than half a million people are newly diagnosed with cancer in Germany every year.¹’² For over 55% of these new cancer cases, there is currently no regular early detection measure available. “Krebs-Scan” aims to close this screening gap.³
- A large-scale study at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf with over 5,000 participants was able to prove the effectiveness of this procedure.⁴
Darmstadt, September 29th 2022: HanseMerkur presented a comprehensive cancer screening programme called Krebs-Scan at this year’s Big Bang Health in Essen. Krebs-Scan consists of a two-stage programme and combines the PanTum Detect® blood test from Zyagnum AG with imaging procedures. PanTum Detect® detects the enzymes TKTL1 and DNaseX (Apo10), which are already produced by many tumours in early, symptomless stages. If PanTum Detect® provides an initial suspicion, this is clarified in a second step by state-of-the-art imaging procedures.
In this way, a large number of cancers or precancerous lesions can be detected early. This is particularly important, since the chances of recovery are usually highest for cancers that are detected as early as possible.
The aim of the programme is to close the screening gap of currently existing screening programmes. The need arises from the fact that regular screening does not cover more than half of new cancer cases each year.
Extensive benefits in the event of illness
In addition to the two-stage diagnosis by PanTum Detect® and the imaging procedures, Krebs-Scan also includes fast and competent telemedical care during the suspicious phase as well as numerous additional benefits in the event of illness. These entail, for example, treatment by a chief physician, daily hospital allowance and a single or double room.
The Chairman of the Board of HanseMerkur Insurance Group, Eberhard Sautter, summarises the cooperation with Zyagnum as follows:
“We are therefore pleased about the cooperation with Zyagnum AG, whose technology we supported at a very early stage. This was followed by the further development into a comprehensive new possibility for early detection. A key driver for us was the fact that there is currently no early detection for more than half of the new cancer cases each year. We therefore want to make a decisive contribution to early cancer detection with this unique insurance programme consisting of a blood test, state-of-the-art imaging procedures and valuable additional services.”
PRESS CONTACT
Anette Ludwig
Zyagnum AG
Gräfenhäuser Str. 26
64293 Darmstadt
Phone +49 173 769 68 22
E-mail: presse@zyagnum.com
Titus Kroder
SCRIPT Consult GmbH
Isartorplatz 5
80331 Munich
Phone +49 89 242 1041 42
E-mail: zyagnum@scriptconsult.de
About Zyagnum: The Darmstadt-based biotechnology company Zyagnum AG develops diagnostic solutions for human medicine. Zyagnum has a profound understanding of immunological processes and their connection with diseases. For example, the EDIM® technology developed by Zyagnum can be used in blood tests to detect specific antigens in immune cells that may play a role in tumour development. Today, the company employs more than 50 people and was founded by Zyagnum CEO Ralf Schierl together with Johannes Coy in 2007.
Website: https://www.zyagnum.com/
About EDIM®: When the human organism derails and runs towards disease, the immune system is often the first to recognise this, often before any symptoms. The platform technology we have developed, EDIM® (Epitope Detection in Monocytes), uses the mechanisms of the immune system to detect such derailments. The EDIM® technology examines macrophages for antigens that have previously been taken up into the cell interior by these immune cells through phagocytosis – this is why we also call EDIM® an immunological biopsy.
About PanTum Detect®: The PanTum Detect® is based on EDIM® technology and detects the enzymes TKTL1 and DNaseX (Apo10) in macrophages. A large-scale study at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf was able to show that the PanTum Detect® can provide the decisive indication as to which people without typical symptoms and suspected cancer in a healthy screening benefit from further examination by imaging procedures. In the case of the 2022 study, an indication of a previously undetected cancer or precancerous lesion was provided for 124 subjects out of over 5,000 study participants – in the study alone for 29 different tumor entities (Positive Predictive Value: 82%).
Link to further information on the study: https://www.zyagnum.com/en/press-release-july-14th-2022/
About HanseMerkur: With an annual turnover of 3.3 billion euros (2021), HanseMerkur is the only independent insurance group in the Hamburg financial centre. The roots of the 147-year-old personal insurer lie in health insurance, which remains the company’s main line of business to this day. HanseMerkur also specialises in private supplementary protection for people with statutory health insurance and is one of the largest German providers in this segment with around 1.26 million supplementary insured (2021). In addition, with premium income of € 183 million (2021) in the travel and leisure business segment, it is one of the market leaders in the tourism insurance industry.
Further information at www.hansemerkur.de
References
- Center for Cancer Registry Data (2018). Percentage distribution of the most common tumor localizations of all new cancer cases in Germany 2018 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). Retrieved on 13.09.2022 from https://www.krebsdaten.de/Krebs/DE/Content/Krebsarten/krebsarten_node.html .
- Center for Cancer Registry Data (2021). Cancer in Germany for 2017/2018. Retrieved on 13.09.2022 from https://www.krebsdaten.de/Krebs/DE/Content/Publikationen/Krebs_in_Deutschland/kid_2021/krebs_in_deutschland_2021.pdf?__blob=publication-File .
- krebsdaten.de or Difference: Total new cases minus the percentage for which there is an early detection offer as part of the statutory health insurance service. KBV (2020). Overview of early detection examinations. Retrieved on 13.09.2022 from https://www.kbv.de/html/3503.php.
- Burg S et al. Blood-test based targeted visualization enables early detection of premalignant and malignant tumors in asymptomatic individuals. J Clin Med Img. 2022; V6(9): 1-12.