A Hollywood charity that just partnered with the world’s most famous YouTuber is now allocating its resources to advancing non-invasive lung cancer screening tools.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) has awarded funding to three research teams in the first round of its new Lung Cancer Early Detection Challenge. The grants, valued at up to US$200,000 apiece, aim to support the development of accurate, cost-effective, non-invasive tests suitable for broad use in different healthcare settings. This initiative seeks to address low participation in low-dose CT screening among high-risk groups and the rising number of lung cancer cases in people who have never smoked, particularly women.
The funded projects explore several promising methods. One team, led by researchers Cecilia Yeung and James Wiley from Fred Hutch Cancer Center and UToledo Health, is investigating ultrasensitive detection of TP53 mutations in cells collected via a nasal brush. This builds on prior research linking such mutations in airway cells to lung cancer and aims to provide a lower-cost, more comfortable alternative to bronchoscopy. Approaches like the OneBreath device from Breath Diagnostics pursue a similar non-invasive strategy by analysing volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath.
A second project is evaluating a blood-based Raman spectroscopy assay (laser test) paired with AI, while the third focuses on autoantibody biomarkers detectable years before diagnosis. Results from this round will help identify the strongest candidates for clinical testing in the programme’s next phase. While these technologies are promising, they remain years away from clinical rollout. Questions linger over false-positive rates, cost-effectiveness and whether they can truly outperform or complement existing CT imaging in diverse populations.
The news comes as a newly released American Lung Association report underlines the urgent need for better options. Only about 18 per cent of high-risk individuals in the U.S. receive recommended screening and doctors diagnose just 28 per cent of cases at an early stage, the research determined. Late-stage diagnoses with a five-year survival rate of roughly 10 per cent are far too common.
Read more: Breath Diagnostics advances pre-op pneumonia screening with FDA breakthrough designation
MrBeast helps power a broader push against cancer
This lung cancer initiative aligns with SU2C’s new partnership with Beast Philanthropy, founded by MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) (ETR: AMG) and St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
The groups are launching a global awareness and fundraising campaign to create a SU2C “Paediatric Cancer Dream Team” dedicated to accelerating breakthroughs for children, adolescents and young adults plagued by cancer.
MrBeast’s video “I Granted 100 Kids Their Biggest Wish” has shared wish fulfilments with celebrities including LeBron James and encourages his hundreds of millions of followers to support the new research team.
Built on decades of entertainment philanthropy
These activities extend the work of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), which established SU2C in 2008. EIF began in 1942 as the Permanent Charities Committee, founded by Hollywood figures such as Samuel Goldwyn, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Joan Crawford and the Warner brothers.
They coordinated industry philanthropy during World War II with payroll deductions and supported causes including polio eradication and the first self-contained bloodmobile for the American Red Cross.
The foundation increased its cancer focus in the 1990s through major events like the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. This history of collaboration is what continues to drive both the lung screening challenge and the new partnership for young people with disease.
Read more: Prestigious medtech intelligence firm recognizes Breath Diagnostics for innovation
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