Avesthagen Study Aimed at Early Detection of Cancers and Other Diseases Announced

Avesthagen Limited, a leading systems biology life sciences company, announces the acceleration of its Avestagenome Project®. This research study focuses on the Indian and Parsi communities and the aim is to understand the linkage between genes, environmental factors, and disease, with an initial look into the role of smoking in developing lung, oral and oesophageal cancers.

Since 2008, the Avestagenome Project® has been collecting a biobank of Parsi blood samples and extensive patient data from over 4,500 members of this community with a target of 15,000 Parsis globally by 2021. The molecular basis of longevity and age-related disorders, prioritising cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders will be investigated in this cohort specifically. The project will provide insights into disease prediction and accelerate the identification and development of biomarkers, predictive diagnostic tests, new drugs, and therapies. 

Recognising the importance of the Parsi cohort and the unique systems’ biology approach to research, the U.S.-based Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, whose mission is to end smoking within this generation, recently awarded a grant to Avesthagen Limited® to prioritise research into the lung and tobacco-related cancers. Avesthagen will combine liquid biopsy, next-generation sequencing (NGS), state-of-the-art bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify predictive and early-stage biomarkers of cancers in smokers. The project will use non-Parsi smoker and non-smoker samples from the wider Indian and other populations to gain further insights into the evidence behind such data. 

The Parsi people, followers of Zoroastrianism, strongly advocate a responsible attitude towards the environment and respect to the elements of creation – fire, water, air, earth, and ether/space - with a special emphasis on fire, the purest of elements and an essential for all rituals and prayers. Veneration for fire has kept the vast majority of Parsis from smoking for centuries.  Family pressure coupled with religious restrictions ensured a nearly smoke-free community. This makes the Parsi people and Avesthagen’s Biobank the ideal control population to act as the reference standard for research into tobacco-related cancers and diseases

The endogamous Parsi community is characterized by greater longevity,  fewer cases of lung, head, neck and oesophagal cancers. At the same time, there is an increased prevalence of Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s diseases, cardiovascular disease, breast and prostate cancer,  and male and female infertility.

Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell, Founder and Chairman, of Avesthagen said, “More than one million people die each year due to tobacco in India and currently there is limited research to help identify early biomarkers of smoking-related disease. We believe our study will identify novel biomarkers that could be used as predictive diagnostics for susceptibility to lung and other cancers.  We are committed to employing the most advanced research methods available to drive the development of treatments that truly save lives. I am dedicated to improving the lives of people across the world,” added Dr Morawala-Patell. 

“The work that Villoo and her team are spearheading has the potential to revolutionize the way that we detect cancer,” said Dr Derek Yach, President of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. “Their findings may also provide key insights about the causes of Parkinson’s Disease and cancers unrelated to smoking and thus common among the Parsi population.”