SALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2018 / ProLung, Inc., ("ProLung" or the "Company") the world leader in innovative predictive analytics technology and non-invasive tests for lung cancer, announces the Japan Patent Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for its Method for Diagnosing a Malignant Lung Tumor patent application. The new patent (Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-536073) covers the method for using the ProLung Test™ to discriminate between malignant and benign lung lesions in patients with indeterminate lung lesions.

"Japan is consistently ranked as a top-3 largest medtech market in the world where they spend more than $33,000,000,000 annually on medical devices and associated materials.^[1],[2] This Japanese patent is a precursor towards bringing our innovative ProLung Test to its aging population of 127,000,000 citizens. It is estimated that 25,000,000 of Japan's population are at risk for lung cancer and our ProLung Test can make a profound difference in time for them,^[3],[4]" said Mr. Eror, President and CEO of ProLung®.

About Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. It kills more people than colorectal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers combined. There are estimated to have been 1,800,000 new lung cancer cases globally in 2012. According to the American Cancer Society, there were 224,390 new cases of lung cancer in the USA in 2016 with 158,080 disease-related deaths resulting from tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, asbestos and other risk factors.^[5] Lung cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate of all major cancers, at approximately 16 percent.^[6]

There is a severe unmet clinical need today to reduce the time required to determine malignancy in lung cancer patients diagnosed with Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodules (IPNs). Patients with IPNs can wait months or even years while receiving multiple CT scans to confirm malignancy in the lungs. This wait often proves fatal as the cancer advances and spreads. The chance to diagnose and treat a malignant nodule in its early, localized state is often lost. If lung cancer is diagnosed while localized at an early stage, five-year survival rates may soar to over 50 percent.^[7]

ProLung's predictive analytics device rapidly evaluates IPNs that have been identified by a CT scan and provides an accurate assessment of the risk of malignancy in the lungs. Patients with a high probability of malignancy may be prioritized for biopsy, leading to an earlier diagnosis with improved prognosis and treatment options. Pre-surgical evaluation may also improve outcomes for individuals with benign nodules through a reduction in futile biopsies which involve significant risk (4.4% mortality rate for resection by thoracotomy^[8], possible pneumothorax and infection), a relaxed CT vigilance program and decreased emotional trauma.