Korean genetic sequencing analyzer Eone Diagnomics Genome Center (EDGC) has discovered ways to diagnose head-and-neck cancers predictively, scaling up its capability to detect signs of various cancers before the disease develops, the Incheon-based company said Thursday.

The latest breakthrough uses the company's cell-free DNA (cfDNA) liquid biopsy technologies that can predict the risk of lung, breast, colon and stomach cancers.

The technology, developed in collaboration with Kyung Hee University Healthcare System in Seoul's Gangdong District, was published in global medical journal Oral Diseases, EDGC said.

The liquid biopsy analyzes DNA in body fluids like blood or saliva, detects signs of cancer risks and tracks their progress.

In the technology's latest development, it tracks down a particular genetic anomaly and detects cancerous genome strands, even in extremely small amounts. It also analyzes various patterns in cancerous cells using the "multiomics" scientific approach and determines their threat using an artificial intelligence algorithm.

An EDGC official told The Korea Times that the publication in Oral Diseases means that the international medical society acknowledged the possibility of diagnosing head-and-neck cancers using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in body fluids. Being able to use these instead of blood sampling was another accomplishment, the official said.

EDGC chief technology officer Lee Sung-hoon said the company's goal is to predictively diagnose all types of cancer with the cfDNA liquid biopsy.

"To diagnose a cancer at the earliest time possible requires being able to detect cfDNA in a fraction as tiny as one in 10,000, or less than 0.01 percent," Lee said.

The technology is owned by EDGC in Asia and America's GRAIL that was recently bought by Illumina, he said.