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New technique for cancer screening
February 24, 2009Graz, Austria - Current research suggests that a new technique to determine tumor methylation status can be used in archived tissue samples. The related report by Balic et al, "High quality assessment of DNA methylation in archival tissues from colorectal cancer patients using quantitative high-resolution melting analysis," appears in the March 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
DNA in tumors is often altered compared with DNA in normal tissues. One common DNA alteration in cancerous tissue is hypermethylation, which results in loss of gene expression. The difference in methylation between normal and cancerous tissues can be used as a biomarker for early cancer diagnosis, risk assessment, and response to therapy.
Archival tissues, or tissues that are formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded for long-term storage, are difficult to screen for cancer biomarkers due to the low quality of their DNA. It is therefore important to develop new techniques to screen for DNA methylation that can be used in archival tissues.
Balic and colleagues examined the ability of high-resolution melting analysis (HRM) to detect methylation on archival tissues from colorectal cancer patients. They found that HRM provided similar results between archival and fresh tissues. In addition, they validated the results using the widely used MethyLight assay.
The results by Balic et al "add substantial information on the HRM-based DNA methylation analysis and demonstrate its applicability for analysis of archival tissues." This assay can be used to establish risk stratification of patients based on methylation status of specific markers and, due to its high sensitivity may have the potential to detect low amounts of methylated cells within the tumor, or even to detect low numbers of tumor cells in the background of non-tumor cells in lymph nodes and other organs. Most importantly, because formalin fixation and paraffin embedding are the most common means of tissue storage, the reported method has the potential to make DNA methylation analysis possible on this vast tissue resource.
Balic and colleagues will now evaluate the ability of HRM-based DNA methylation analysis to predict the presence of lymph node metastases and to detect very small tumor deposits in lymph nodes with known micrometastatic disease in a well defined cohort of prostate cancer samples. This may lead to new and better predictive and staging methods for prostate cancer patients.
American Journal of Pathology
Balic and colleagues examined the ability of high-resolution melting analysis (HRM) to detect methylation on archival tissues from colorectal cancer patients. They found that HRM provided similar results between archival and fresh tissues. In addition, they validated the results using the widely used MethyLight assay.
The results by Balic et al "add substantial information on the HRM-based DNA methylation analysis and demonstrate its applicability for analysis of archival tissues." This assay can be used to establish risk stratification of patients based on methylation status of specific markers and, due to its high sensitivity may have the potential to detect low amounts of methylated cells within the tumor, or even to detect low numbers of tumor cells in the background of non-tumor cells in lymph nodes and other organs. Most importantly, because formalin fixation and paraffin embedding are the most common means of tissue storage, the reported method has the potential to make DNA methylation analysis possible on this vast tissue resource.
Balic and colleagues will now evaluate the ability of HRM-based DNA methylation analysis to predict the presence of lymph node metastases and to detect very small tumor deposits in lymph nodes with known micrometastatic disease in a well defined cohort of prostate cancer samples. This may lead to new and better predictive and staging methods for prostate cancer patients.
American Journal of Pathology
Methylation Current Events and Methylation News RSSResearchers discover RNA repair system in bacteria
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MDC scientists show how hematopoietic stem cell development is regulated
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Study finds 231 new genes associated with head and neck cancer
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New blood tests promise simple, cost-effective diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers
Promising results from two new blood tests that can aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers will be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress.
Changes to DNA linked to diabetes
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Why don't brain tumors respond to medication?
Malignant brain tumors often fail to respond to promising new medication. Researchers in Heidelberg have discovered a mechanism and a tumor marker for the development of this resistance.
New DNA Test Uses Nanotechnology to Find Early Signs of Cancer
Using tiny crystals called quantum dots, Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a highly sensitive test to look for DNA attachments that often are early warning signs of cancer.
Researchers develop new, more-sensitive assay for detecting DNA methylation in colon cancer
A study published in this week's online issue of Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates a unique and highly sensitive method for detecting methylation-associated cancers.
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