A major breakthrough in cancer diagnostics is on the horizon, as Dr. Mads Bergholt from King's College London (KCL) has been awarded a prestigious €2.2 million European Research Council Consolidator Grant to lead the EPIC project, in close collaboration with Professor Richard Cook (KCL) and the Oral Clinical Research Unit (OCRU).
The initiative promises to revolutionize how clinicians detect and manage head and neck cancers, which remain notoriously difficult to diagnose at an early stage.
Tackling a Persistent Challenge
Head and neck cancers are often missed in their earliest phases because tissue changes are subtle, unpredictable and can often resemble more benign lesions. Current endoscopic examinations allow doctors to see visible abnormalities but fall short in determining whether suspicious areas are stable, progressing, or already malignant. This uncertainty frequently leads to delayed interventions or repeated follow-ups that may still fail to catch cancer in time.
The EPIC Solution
The EPIC project aims to change this by developing a next-generation optical platform capable of improving diagnosis. At the heart of the system is a miniaturized multimodal optical probe that integrates advanced vascular and molecular imaging.
Together, these approaches will provide clinicians with a comprehensive, real-time insight into tissue health during routine examinations. Importantly, the system is label-free, requiring no dyes or contrast agents, and is designed to fit seamlessly into existing hospital and ultimately primary care clinical workflows.
Building the Technology
The instrument's development has been made possible by the creation of a new Fibre Manufacturing Facility within the Label-free Bioimaging Laboratory at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King's. This facility provides the technical foundation for designing and fabricating the advanced fibre-optic components central to EPIC. Translational and commercial development is further supported by the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), ensuring the technology is positioned for both scientific impact and eventual clinical adoption.
Harnessing AI for Prediction
To interpret the rich, multi-modal data generated by the probe, the team will build an AI model and conduct a first in human study to test whether the platform can reliably identify high-risk lesions in real time, supporting earlier and more personalized interventions.
Broader Impact
Beyond improving diagnostic accuracy, EPIC is expected to shed new light on the microenvironment of head and neck cancer development. The project will help explain why disease progression varies among patients and uncover biological markers linked to early transformation.
Said Dr Bergholt: "Ultimately, EPIC aims to give clinicians a powerful new tool to detect cancer earlier, stratify risk more effectively, and intervene at the most critical moments in the disease's trajectory."
Professor Cook observes: "This is the instrument that all clinicians working with patients who have, are likely to have or are worried about Oral Cancer developing, have been waiting for. It offers the potential to minimise painful and invasive biopsies for assessing tissue health and allows multiple site sampling with far more accuracy and comfort. Being non-invasive and totally patient friendly and with its non-threatening design concept and science, it dramatically heightens our diagnostic accuracy and accelerates our commitment to treating a cancer case, monitor their recovery more accurately or allows us to reassure a patient that their lesion is not malignant and relieve that dreadful worry at the earliest opportunity."
