Blood Test to Detect Cancer

In the not too distant future it may be possible to diagnose cancer by testing a single drop of a patient's blood or urine, according to German company Epigenomics.

Researchers at Epigenomics have developed a test that distinguishes normal DNA from that of cancerous cells by working out whether specific genes have been switched on or off by the addition or removal of a methyl group. The process of methylation, where a methyl group is added to a gene, can turn off cancer-preventing tumor suppressor genes, whereas the removal of methyl groups from genes that promote cancer called oncogenes can make them more active.

By examining 232 methylation sites on 56 genes the researchers found that certain methylation patterns were unique to specific types of cancer. The team have already identified methyaltion patterns that are unique to healthy and cancerous cells of the kidney, prostate, and blood, thus suggesting that the test will also enable doctors to diagnose the type of cancer a patient is suffering from.

The company also believes that the test could identify whether a patient will respond to a specific treatment. To test this theory Epigenomics has joined forces with Canadian biopharmaceutical company MethyGene to assess the methylation changes that occur when patients receive a cancer drug called MG98.

It is thought that the test could be carried out on small amounts of blood, as fragments of DNA from cancerous cells are present in blood and other bodily fluids such as urine, thus removing the need for tissue biopsies.

SOURCE/ REFERENCE: Reported by www.bbc.co.uk on the 7th March 2002 and www.epigenomics.com on the 30th October 2001