Stage I Diagnostics, Inc. identifies and develops assays for new functional biomarkers for cancer detection. The underlying biological processes of tumor activity involving cellular transition, cell shedding, cellular dissemination, and metastatic invasion are biologically conserved and are mediated by a cascade of enzymes which promote tumor growth and spread. Many of these enzymes have now been identified and shown to be over-expressed in tumors and confirmed to be either secreted or exported to the cell surface and released into the blood stream.

Stage I has identified many of these markers (KLK8, KLK7, Matriptase, MMP-7, SLPI, Hepsin, and TMPRSS3) and developed ELISA assays for their detection in the serum of cancer patients. Monitoring these markers allows for detection of ongoing tumor activity and also provides opportunities for therapeutic intervention by inhibition of enzyme activity resulting in the mitigation of tumor growth and spread.