From Neutron Insights to Demonstration of Ovarian Cancer Detection

Research at the University of Toronto—supported by neutron reflectometry studies that revealed how to control protein interactions at surfaces—is now contributing to the development of a blood-based diagnostic technology for ovarian cancer, advancing toward clinical application at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

At the heart of this work is one of the most persistent challenges in women’s health. Ovarian cancer—often called the “silent killer”—typically develops without clear symptoms and is most often diagnosed only after it has advanced, when survival rates are low. Yet when detected at Stage 1, survival rates can exceed 90 percent. The difference lies entirely in early detection.

Today, that challenge is beginning to shift, as research from the University of Toronto moves beyond the laboratory into a startup venture, Farname‑Diagnosis, which is attracting early recognition and support, and signalling growing momentum toward a practical diagnostic tool.

A Problem Hidden in Blood

Detecting cancer at its earliest stages requires identifying trace amounts of disease-related molecules—known as biomarkers—in blood or serum, the liquid component of blood. But this is an extraordinarily difficult environment in which to operate.

Blood contains a dense mixture of proteins that readily adhere to surfaces of medical devices in ways that interfere with their function, a phenomenon known as biofouling. When this occurs, diagnostic sensors can become coated with unrelated proteins, obscuring the signal from the molecules clinicians are trying to measure.

This challenge has long limited the development of simple, reliable diagnostic devices that can operate directly in blood. While sophisticated laboratory methods can detect cancer biomarkers, they are often too slow, expensive, and complex for widespread screening.

What is needed is a way to build a sensor that can function cleanly and selectively in real biological fluids, while remaining fast, affordable, and robust enough to be deployed at the scale required for screening large populations—potentially millions of tests each year.

What Neutrons Made Visible

That solution began with fundamental research at the molecular scale.

Earlier work by Professor Michael Thompson and collaborators at the University of Toronto used neutron reflectometry to study ultra-thin coatings designed to resist protein adhesion. This neutron-based technique allows researchers to probe structures at the nanometre scale and to distinguish how different molecular layers interact at interfaces.

These studies revealed how Thompson’s carefully engineered surface coatings interact with water and proteins, demonstrating how a thin molecular layer could effectively prevent unwanted protein accumulation—in other words, how to keep a sensing surface “clean” in a complex biological environment.

This insight addressed a central barrier to operating diagnostic devices in blood—enabling the design of biosensor surfaces that remain functional in serum while preserving their ability to detect specific target molecules associated with disease.

From Surface Chemistry to Cancer Diagnostics

Building on this foundation, Thompson’s research group has developed biosensor platforms capable of detecting molecules linked to ovarian cancer, including promising biomarkers such as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a lipid that can increase even in early-stage disease.

These biosensors use electrochemical and related sensing approaches to convert molecular binding events into measurable signals and are designed to operate directly in blood or serum samples without extensive preparation. Critically, Thompson’s team has now published findings that demonstrate their effectiveness in LPA detection in ovarian cancer patients’ blood samples. The samples were collected in collaboration with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the world’s leading cancer research hospitals.

“The real breakthrough here is making sensitive detection possible directly in serum, without the need for complex laboratory workflows,” says Professor Michael Thompson. “If we can move these measurements to the point of care, we open the door to detecting ovarian cancer much earlier, at a stage when patients have far more treatment options and a dramatically better chance of survival.”

To translate this research into a deployable technology, the work is now being advanced through a startup venture, Farname‑Diagnosis, emerging from the University of Toronto entrepreneurship ecosystem. Farname‑Diagnosis is developing rapid, low-cost, point‑of‑care diagnostic devices for early ovarian cancer detection using biosensor technology.

The venture has already gained early recognition, including success in a pitch competition at the University of Toronto’s Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership (SICIEEIL), and support through the university’s Health Innovation Hub and entrepreneurship programs. These early signals point to growing confidence in the technology’s potential to address a significant and longstanding gap in cancer detection.

Toward Clinical Validation and Impact

Now, these research partners are pursuing the next stage of development: clinical trials that will evaluate their biosensor’s performance across patients at different stages of disease.

At the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, this technology sits within a broader focus on early cancer detection, including approaches based on blood and serum biomarkers. Recent investments—including a $50 million gift establishing the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research, now one of the largest programs of its kind globally—are building the infrastructure needed to translate new diagnostic technologies into clinical trials and patient care.

Continued success of Thompson’s innovative biosensors in clinical trials could enable an effective blood-based test for ovarian cancer that supports routine screening of at-risk populations, detects disease before symptoms appear, and enables earlier intervention when treatment is most effective.

For patients, this could mean the difference between a late-stage diagnosis and a highly treatable condition. For healthcare systems, it represents a shift toward earlier, more proactive care—reducing both the human and economic burden of advanced disease.

More broadly, it highlights how fundamental research, supported by national scientific infrastructure for neutron beams, can lead to innovations with global relevance. And for women facing ovarian cancer in Canada and around the world, that pathway could ultimately lead to earlier detection, better health outcomes, and ultimately, many lives saved.