Creatv MicroTech, a biotechnology company developing noninvasive diagnostics for cancer, has received a $250,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) to test the company’s CellSieveTM system for determination of residual disease in lung cancer patients after chemoradiation therapy, and for early detection of lung cancer recurrence. Creatv MicroTech’s discovery of a very large cell, the cancer associated macrophagelike cell (CAML), in patient blood has enabled more informative and reliable blood based cancer diagnostics. The presence of the CAML biomarker indicates the presence of cancer. Creatv developed CellSieveTM technology to capture and analyze CAMLs. In collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Creatv will assess the use of CAMLs in lung cancer patients to determine residual disease following treatment. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 158,040 deaths (86,380 men and 71,660 women) from this disease in 2015. Ideally, treatment should be continued as long as necessary and stopped only after the cancer has been eradicated. The problem is that standard imaging techniques, CT and MRI, cannot detect small residual cancers, and thus treatment regimens may be insufficient for a patient’s individual need. The goal of Creatv’s study is to determine the point at which chemoradiation should be stopped, reducing the likelihood of recurrence. “We are honored to be recognized for the progress we have made in developing precision blood-based cancer diagnostics,” said Cha-Mei Tang PhD, President and CEO of Creatv MicroTech. “Our collaboration with the world renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center and support from the NIH will further demonstrate the value and utility of the CellSieveTM system and CAMLs in the battle against cancer and will ultimately save lives.”