SU2C Challenge Program Aims to Accelerate Lung Cancer Early Detection

Research awards will set the stage for clinical testing of most promising tests

LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stand Up To Cancer^® (SU2C) has awarded funding to three research teams working to develop noninvasive tests for the early detection of lung cancer. The awards are for the first round of the SU2C Lung Cancer Early Detection Challenge, which was launched to accelerate the development of new, cost-effective liquid biopsy-based screening tests for lung cancer.

Although annual screening with low-dose CT is proven to reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer, uptake has been poor among those recommended to undergo screening: long-term current or past heavy smokers. In addition, lung cancer rates are increasing among people who don't meet the current eligibility criteria for screening, including people—mostly women—who have never smoked, creating an urgent need for approaches that are more amenable to population-wide screening.

The teams receiving funding are investigating promising approaches to early detection, with the goal of developing tests that are exceptionally accurate and, as importantly, can be easily employed in different health care settings.

"Lung cancer is still the number one cause of cancer death and more and more people who have never smoked or don't have other known risk factors are being diagnosed with this deadly disease," said SU2C President and CEO Julian Adams, PhD. "We know that, as a screening test, low-dose CT can save lives. Unfortunately, use of this screening modality is extremely low, and cost-effective, easy-to-use options for lung cancer screening are desperately needed."

Data from these three projects will help inform the program's second round, which will include prospective studies of the most promising modalities from round one and employing machine-learning models to identify the modalities that should be moved forward for continued development.

The projects being funded in the first round include:

Ultrasensitive detection of TP53 mutations in nasal brush cells as a biomarker for early lung cancer - Led by Cecilia Yeung, MD, of Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and James Willey, MD, of UToledo Health, this project will investigate a test that identifies TP53 mutations in cells collected via a nasal brush. The project builds on research conducted by Dr. Willey's lab showing a strong association between TP53 mutations in airway epithelial cells and lung cancer. The goal is to develop a lower-cost and non-invasive alternative to bronchoscopy-based airway sampling in people at high risk of lung cancer who would benefit most from annual low-dose CT screening.

Proof-of-principle evaluation of the Reveals Raman biofluid assay for early-stage lung cancer detection - Led by Paul Scott, JD, and Timothy Triche, MD, PhD, of Avrok Biosciences, this project will help to further develop a blood-based assay that combines Raman spectroscopy and artificial intelligence to look for early signals of lung cancer. With this funding, Avrok will conduct further studies of an existing assay that, in testing on hundreds of clinical samples, has demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating early lung cancer from healthy controls.

Lung cancer early detection using autoantibodies targeting cancer-specific neoepitopes - Led by Paul Lampe, PhD, and Kristin Lastwika, PhD, of Fred Hutch Cancer Center, this project will support the development of an assay that detects immune-based biomarkers called autoantibody-antigen complexes that are specific to subtypes of lung cancer, including small cell lung cancer and squamous cell carcinoma. Earlier studies have shown that the assay can identify lung cancer from samples collected two years or more before diagnosis.

"Although treatments for lung cancer, including advanced lung cancer, have improved, catching this disease as early as possible is still the best hope for a cure," Dr. Adams said. "With this program, we're challenging these teams to use advanced technologies and novel approaches to make early detection of lung cancer far more commonplace than it is today—saving potentially thousands upon thousands of lives in the process."

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer^® (SU2C) raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients. SU2C is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and was initially launched as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

Established in 2008 by media and entertainment leaders, SU2C utilizes these communities' resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, to increase awareness about cancer prevention, and to highlight progress being made in the fight against the disease. As of April 2025, more than 3,100 scientists representing more than 210 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is SU2C's scientific partner. A Scientific Advisory Committee, led by William G. Nelson, MD, PhD, conducts rigorous competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

Current members of the SU2C Founders and Advisors Committee (FAC) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, and Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Julian Adams, PhD, serves as SU2C's president and CEO.

For more information visit StandUpToCancer.org, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, and YouTube.

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SOURCE Stand Up To Cancer, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation