Diagnostics
Licensing
Carcinogenesis, Cancer, Human Health, Diagnostics.
Scientists from Leiden University Medical Center
have found a DNA marker that is associated with
early stage carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer.
The invention concerns a DNA marker that is
methylated in tumor cells.
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At this moment several DNA methylation
kits are being developed in the field of
cancer diagnostics. Not all different
forms of cancer can be diagnosed with
these DNA methylation kits yet.
Early stage diagnostics of cancer is
important, because patients who are
treated for cancer at an early stage
have a higher chance on survival. The
found marker has a high specificity and
sensitivity and can be included in or
developed into DNA methylation kits that
are used for non-invasive detection of
(pre-symptomatic) cancer such as fecal
DNA testing. The found marker has been
tested in a collection of samples and
the presence of the marker was validated
in all tumor tissues. Most
cancers involve the epigenetic silencing
of genes that normally control cell
proliferation. Inappropriate gene
silencing can be caused by epigenetic
modifications such as DNA methylation
and histone deacetylation. DNA
methylation is a stable chemical
modification of the DNA molecule that
can be detected with cost-effective and
sensitive assays.
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Fig. 1 Picture of a stalked polyp in the
colon recorded with an endoscope. In the
future invasive diagnostics of
(precursor forms of) cancer in the colon
may be partially replaced by a molecular
test.
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Methylation
can be specific both for the cancer state and
for the
type of cancer.
The scientists are developing a methodology to
analyze methylation of DNA in stool samples, and
are gathering more evidence on the sensitivity
and specificity of the found marker. The
sensitivity of the test at this moment is 94%
and the specificity of the test is 94-100%. The
test can be performed in 2-3 days.
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