
Science & Publications
Meet the Developers
D. James Morré, Ph.D. and Dorothy M. Morré, Ph.D. are the developers of the ONCOblot® Test, a Laboratory Developed Test for early cancer detection.
The Morré’s are committed to the premise that understanding cancer is the key to its conquest. Their ONCOblot® test, a new blood test for cancer, is based on more than 20 years of basic research.
D. James Morré, Ph.D.
• President, CEO and Director of Research, MorNuCo, Inc, Purdue Research Park, West Lafayette, IN.
• Formerly Dow Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Purdue University.
• Ph.D. Biochemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (1963).
• Founding Director of the Purdue Cancer Center (1976-1986).
• Purdue University Society of Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award (2004).
• More than 750 papers and reviews published, listed among the 300 most-cited authors in science by Current Contents with 3065 citations for the 14 year period between 1965-1978.
• Placed above the 95th percentile in the distribution of extramural NIH funds over the past 24 years based on the Columbia University study of NIH records (2006).
Dorothy M. Morré, Ph.D.
• Vice President, CSO and Treasurer, MorNuCo, Inc, Purdue Research Park, West Lafayette, IN.
• Ph.D., Nutrition, Purdue University 1977.
• Research Scientist, Division of Membrane Biology and Biochemistry, Institute of Experimental Pathology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany (1976).
• Formerly, Professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University.
• Gamma Sigma Delta Award for Outstanding Performance and Achievement in Research, Purdue University (2004).
• Founding Member, Botanical Center-Age Related Disease, Purdue University. 170 publications.
• Co-discoverer of ENOX family of cell surface proteins and co-author of book with D. James Morré “ECTO-NOX Proteins” published by Springer, New York (2013).
ONCOblot® Reports: Periodical Updates for Physicians
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 1 May 2015: Estimation of the Accuracy of the ONCOblot® Tissue of Origin Cancer Test
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 2 June 2015: Primary Tumors and Distant Metastases Produce Identical ENOX2 Protein Transcript Variants that Aid in the Identification of Cancers of Unknown Primary
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 3 July 2015: Blood Cell Cancers are Detected but not Identified as to Type or Subtype by the ONCOblot® Tissue of Origin Cancer Test
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 4 August 2015: ONCOblot® Consistently Detects Stage 0 and Stage I Cancers and Correctly Identifies the Tissue of Origin
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 5 September 2015: Estimation of Lower Limit of Detection of ENOX2 in Serum
ONCOblot® Reports Vol. 1 No. 6 October 2015: Incidence of ONCOblot Detection of ENOX2 in Young Adults
ONCOblot® Report Vol. 1 No. 7 November 2015: Interpretation of ONCOblot Test Results
ONCOblot® Report Vol. 2 No. 1 January 2016: ENOX2: A Potential Target for Early Cancer Intervention
ONCOblot® Report Vol. 2 No. 2 February 2016: Detection of Mesothelioma-Specific ENOX2 Isoforms 4-10 years in Advance of Clinical Symptoms
ONCOblot® Report Vol. 2 No. 4 April 2016: Expression of the ENOX2 Serum Cancer Marker in Advance of Clinical Symptoms
ONCOblot® Report Vol. 2 No. 5 May 2016: MorNuCo Inc. Founders Honored in Receiving Award
The Book: ECTO-NOX Proteins
ECTO-Nox Proteins: Growth, Cancer, and Aging. D. James Morré and Dorothy M. Morré.
Published by Springer, New York (2013)
Preview a sample chapter.
Book Review, Ralph W. Moss, PhD, January 14, 2016.
Peer Reviewed Publication: "Cancer Site-Specific Isoforms of ENOX2 (tNOX), A Cancer-Specific Cell Surface Oxidase"
Abstract Introduction:
All neoplastic cells express one or more members of a unique family of tumor-associated cell surface ubiquinone (NADH) oxidase proteins with protein disulfide-thiol interchange activity (ENOX2 or tNOX proteins) that are characteristically blocked by quinone site inhibitors with anti-cancer activity. Read On.
ENOX2 Gene Publication
Review the ENOX2 Gene publication.
Peer-Reviewed Study, January 2016: "ENOX2 proteins from malignant mesothelioma are detected 4-10 years in advance of clinical symptoms."
Accuracy and Sensitivity Data and Information
Read Accuracy Results of 800 ONCOblots
A summary is provided below for convenience. Please see document for details.
Based on the original database from 01/01/2013, analyses of over 800 ONCOblots® covering 26 different kinds of cancers with clinically confirmed diagnoses:
99.3% were positive for cancer based on ENOX2 presence
Of these, the organ site of the cancer was determined correctly in 96% of the samples
There were less than 1% false negatives
Read ONCOblot Reports, Volume 1, No. 1, Estimation of the Accuracy of the ONCOblot Test
A summary from this Report is provided below for convenience. Please refer to Report for complete details regarding our best current estimates as of April 29, 2015:
False positives: 0.06%
False negatives: 0.6%
Limit of detection: 200 femtomoles of ENOX2, approximately 2million cancer cells or 0.8-1.2 mm diameter.
Misidentification of tissue of origin: 2.8% – 3.3%
Early Detection Trial Results
Evaluation of subjects enrolled in an early detection trial (Hannau et al. Clinical Proteomics 2014 11:2) revealed the following trends:
• Of 110 subjects presenting with no clinical symptoms, 66 subjects or 60% were negative in the ONCOblot® test.
• Of the same 110 subjects presenting with no clinical symptoms, 44 subjects or 40% were positive in the ONCOblot® test.
This aligns with current data of 1 in every 3 individuals is expected to contract cancer in their lifetime.
• Of the subjects testing positive for cancer, 9 were identified as non-small cell lung cancer, 7 as breast cancer, 4 as colorectal and 3 each for blood cell, ovarian, prostate and cervical cancer, 2 for squamous cell and 1 each for melanoma, mesothelioma, bladder, thyroid and uterine cancer. Organ site could not be identified for 5 patients as either being represented by a fully processed ENOX2 (generic) transcript variant or as not being represented in the database at the time of the study.
A large-scale clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy of ONCOblot® as a cancer screening test has not been completed. Cancer screening is not an approved utility of the ONCOblot® Test. The ONCOblot® test is a confirmatory test that is intended to be used by the ordering physician in conjunction with the patient’s complete medical history and the results of standard of care testing. Cancers progress at varying rates and therefore, the frequency of diagnostic testing is subject to the ordering physician’s clinical judgement.
Additional sources confirming the ENOX2 gene, the ENOX2 protein and the role of ENOX2 proteins in cancer, cell migration (metastasis)
GenBank Accession No. AF20788.
Johnston, CM, Newall, AE. Brockdorff. N, Nesterova, TB. (2002) Enox, a novel gene that maps 10 kb upstream of Xist and partially escapes X inactivation. Genomics 80:236-244.
Berridge, MV, Tan, AS. (2000) High-capacity redox control at the plasma membrane of mammalian cells: trans-membrane, cell surface, and serum NADH-oxidases. Antioxid Redox Signal 2:231-242.
Chueh, P-J. (2000) Cell membrane redox systems and transformation. Antoxid Redox Signal 2:177-187.
Fernandez, R, Ganzo, DO (2003) Use of a green tea-capsicum supplement (Capsibiol-T) as adjuvant cancer treatment: case study report. Phil J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 18:171-177.
Medina, MA, del Castillo-Olivares, A, deCastro, I. (1997) Multifunctional plasma membrane redox systems. Bioessays 19:977-984.
Su, YC, Lin, YH, Zeng, ZM, Shao, KN, Chueh, PJ. (2012) Chemotherapeutic agents enhance cell migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition through transient up-regulation of tNOX (ENOX2) protein. Biochim Biophys Acta 1820:1744-1752.
Wang, H-M, Chueh, PJ, Chang, S-P, Yang, C-L, Shao, K-N. (2009) Effect of capsaicin on tNOX (ENOX2) protein expression in stomach cancer cells. Biofactors 34:209-217.
Wang, H-M, Chuang S-M, Su, Y-C, Chueh, P-J. (2011) Down-regulation of tumor-associated NADH oxidase, tNOX (ENOX2, enhances capsaicin-induced inhibition of gastric cancer cell growth. Cell Biochem Biophys 61:355-366.