Chilean ThyroidPrint Saves Patients From Unnecessary Surgery

By Jaci McDole

Many developing nations struggle to provide patients with greater access to affordable, quality health care. Fortunately, local innovators work to meet these needs through medical-technology and biotechnology, integrating technological advancements with life-sciences research and development (R&D). For example, Chilean start-up GeneproDX’s ThyroidPrint utilizes artificial intelligence to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce unnecessary surgeries for certain patients.

Thyroid tumor patients often require biopsies to determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant (i.e., cancerous). Of these biopsies, 70 percent return benign, 20 percent are indeterminate, and 10 percent are malignant. For those diagnosed as indeterminate, only 25 percent are cancerous. However, patients in the remaining 75 percent of cases frequently undergo unnecessary thyroid-removal surgeries as a precaution.

Surgery is often expensive, time-consuming, and produces residual effects such as scars, corrective surgeries, or lifelong pharmaceutical needs. When glands or organs are surgically removed, the body requires alternatives to perform those functions. The thyroid gland produces two vital hormones affecting — among other things — body temperature, heart rate, and protein production. Thus, post-operative patients require hormone supplements. Reducing unnecessary surgeries relieves many of these burdens and frees healthcare staff to attend to patients with more severe conditions.

According to a World Health Organization fact sheet, there were more than 586,000 new cases of thyroid cancer in 2020, with more than 43,600 fatalities. Latin American and Caribbean countries account for 10.8 percent of these cases and 10.1 percent of global fatalities. Although thyroid cancer is considered rare overall (accounting for approximately 3 percent of all cancer diagnoses), studies indicate an increase in cases recently. Cancer screenings represent a proven preventive measure in reducing mortality rates, yet many patients and healthcare providers canceled or postponed cancer screenings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision likely to increase future mortality rates. (In fact, according to America’s National Cancer Institute, missed screenings and other pandemic-related impacts on cancer care could result in about 10,000 additional deaths from breast and colon cancer (which together account for about one-sixth of all cancer deaths) alone over the next 10 years in the United States.) Therefore, highly accurate biopsy diagnoses could mean the difference between life and death for some patients.

To this end, faculty members and a medical student from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile developed ThyroidPrint to, “Provide the best diagnostic certainty to personalize cancer treatment, while helping to reduce costs and avoid unnecessary treatments that may harm peoples’ health.” The innovation’s novel algorithm contains a genetic signature that analyzes 10 genes within a thyroid biopsy sample. Studies indicate ThyroidPrint provides more accurate results (with a 95 percent negative predictive value, 78 percent positive predictive value, and 88 percent specificity) and significantly reduces indeterminate results for thyroid tumor patients.

Like so many innovations, intellectual property (IP) played a leading role in ThyroidPrint’s journey from concept to viable healthcare product. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is part of the Biomedical Research Consortium-Chile (BMRC), an R&D consortium facilitating public-private partnerships between the university and industry-leading companies. Within the BMRC framework, the university’s technology transfer office developed an IP strategy, patented the innovation, and developed GeneproDX to market ThyroidPrint. GeneproDX is Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s first medical-technology spinoff.

IP-supported technology transfer systems and consortiums such as BMRC enable innovative solutions to reach those they are meant to help. According to ThyroidPrint’s website, it is available in six countries and has “already prevented hundreds of thyroid surgeries.” Additionally, ThyroidPrint demonstrates Chile’s innovative biotechnology potential.

Innovation can (and does) happen anywhere, but it thrives in IP-rich environments. Because of IP, thyroid patients in Latin America and around the world benefit from Chilean ingenuity. Because of ThyroidPrint’s innovations, hundreds of patients have experienced improved quality of life. This is a compelling example of the symbiotic relationship between IP and innovation.