Biomarker identification may lead to new noninvasive test for colorectal cancer detection

Serum DNA analysis allows detection of early disease, say researchers in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics

2013-06-07

(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, PA, June 7, 2013 – The average 5-year survival for colorectal cancer (CRC) is less than 10% if metastasis occurs, but can reach 90% if detected early. A new non-invasive test has been developed that measures methylation of the SDC2 gene in tissues and blood sera. This test detected 87% of all stages of colorectal cancer cases (sensitivity) without significant difference between early and advanced stages, while correctly identifying 95% of disease-free patients (specificity). The results are published in the July issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CRC is the second leading cancer killer in the US affecting both men and women. In 2009, close to 137,000 people in the US were diagnosed with CRC, with close to a 40% mortality rate.

There are other screening choices for CRC, including fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), fecal immunochemical testing, and colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is the gold standard of CRC screening, but patient resistance – mostly due to the unpleasant preparation – has curbed widespread adoption. FOBT is non-invasive but has limited sensitivity, particularly for early disease. A sensitive and specific non-invasive test using blood or stool could to be a more preferable option with the potential of saving many lives.

In their search for a biomarker that could be used for the early detection of CRC, investigators from Genomictree, Inc. and Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, performed DNA microarray analysis coupled with enriched methylated DNA using tissues from primary tumors and non-tumor tissues from 12 CRC patients. After step-wise filtering, they found a set of genes that were highly methylated across all of the CRC tumors. Ultimately they identified one gene, SDC2, which encodes the membrane syndecan-2 protein, a protein that is known to participate in cell proliferation, cell migration, and is expressed in colon mesenchymal cells. The methylation level of target region of SDC2 assessed in tumor tissue was found to be significantly higher than that from paired adjacent non-tumor tissue.

The next step was to clinically validate the biomarker by analyzing SDC2 methylation levels in primary tumors and paired-adjacent non-tumor tissue samples from 133 CRC patients. Investigators found that in the transcriptional regulatory region of the SDC2 gene, tumor samples showed significantly higher levels of methylation than the control samples. SDC2 methylation positivity ranged from 92.9% to 100% when samples were stratified according to stages of cancer.

Further, investigators found that the SDC2 biomarker could be measured in serum samples from CRC patients and healthy individuals. "The SDC2 methylation test was able to detect 92% for detection of stage I cancer patients indicating that SDC2 is suitable for early detection of CRC where therapeutic interventions have the greatest likelihood of curing the patient from the disease," says first author TaeJeong Oh, PhD.

The authors suggest that the SDC2 methylation test they describe could possibly be used as an alternative to or in conjunction with colonoscopy. It could also be used to monitor cancer progression and treatment. Dr. Sungwhan An, corresponding author and CEO of Genomictree, Inc., commented: "We are very excited with this result using a small amount of serum DNA from less than 1ml of blood. I believe a greater volume of blood will further improve the clinical performance of this test. We are currently preparing another set of clinical validation studies evaluating SDC2 methylation in serum DNA from patients with early adenoma." In future research the authors will explore whether this biomarker is specific to CRC or universal among other cancers.

### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study shows how young genes become essential for life

2013-06-07

VIDEO: This is what happens when the essential gene Umbrea is removed from fruit fly cells: cell death. A group of molecular biologists, including assistant professor Barbara Mellone at UConn's College... Click here for more information. Researchers from UConn and other institutions in the U.S. and abroad have shown how a relatively young gene can acquire a new function and become essential to an organism's life. Using a combination of techniques, including phylogenetics, ...

Autism discovery paves way for early blood test and therapeutic options

2013-06-06

Greenwood, SC (June 5, 2013) - Researchers at the JC Self Research Institute of the Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC), along with collaborators from Biolog, Inc. in California, have reported an important discovery in the understanding of autism which was published this week in Molecular Autism. The study, led by GGC's Director of Research, Charles Schwartz, PhD and Staff Scientist, Luigi Boccuto, MD, found that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) showed significantly decreased metabolism of the amino acid L-tryptophan when compared to both typical controls ...

How birds lost their penises

2013-06-06

In animals that reproduce by internal fertilization, as humans do, you'd think a penis would be an organ you couldn't really do without, evolutionarily speaking. Surprisingly, though, most birds do exactly that, and now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 6 have figured out where, developmentally speaking, birds' penises have gone. It turns out that land fowl, which have only rudimentary penises as adults, have normally developing penises as early embryos. Later in development, however, the birds turn on a genetic program that leads ...

Superb lyrebirds move to the music

2013-06-06

VIDEO: When male superb lyrebirds sing, they often move their bodies to the music in a choreographed way, say researchers who report their findings in the Cell Press journal Current Biology... Click here for more information. When male superb lyrebirds sing, they often move their bodies to the music in a choreographed way, say researchers who report their findings in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 6. The findings add to evidence from human cultures around ...

Brain imaging study eliminates differences in visual function as a cause of dyslexia

2013-06-06

WASHINGTON — A new brain imaging study of dyslexia shows that differences in the visual system do not cause the disorder, but instead are likely a consequence. The findings, published today in the journal Neuron, provide important insights into the cause of this common reading disorder and address a long-standing debate about the role of visual symptoms observed in developmental dyslexia. Dyslexia is the most prevalent of all learning disabilities, affecting about 12 percent of the U.S. population. Beyond the primarily observed reading deficits, individuals with dyslexia ...

Nuclear testing from the 1960s helps scientist determine whether adult brains generate new neurons

2013-06-06

The birth of new neurons in the adult brain sharpens memory in rodents, but whether the same holds true for humans has long been debated. A study published by Cell Press June 6th in the journal Cell reveals that a significant number of new neurons in the hippocampus—a brain region crucial for memory and learning—are generated in adult humans. The researchers used a unique strategy based on the amount of carbon-14 found in humans as a result of above-ground nuclear testing more than half a century ago. The findings suggest that new neurons are born daily in the human hippocampus, ...

Studies showing how bird flu viruses could adapt to humans offer surveillance and vaccine strategies

2013-06-06

Bird flu viruses are potentially highly lethal and pose a global threat, but relatively little is known about why certain strains spread more easily to humans than others. Two studies published by Cell Press June 6th in the journal Cell identify mutations that increase the infectivity of H5N1 and H7N9 viruses through improved binding to receptors in the human respiratory tract. The findings offer much-needed strategies for monitoring the emergence of dangerous bird flu strains capable of infecting humans and for developing more effective vaccines. "Avian influenza viruses ...

Parents with heavy TV viewing more likely to feed children junk food

2013-06-06

Washington, DC (June 3, 2013) – If your preschooler thinks a cheeseburger is healthy, you may want to reconsider how you watch TV. A recent study by researchers at the University of Michigan found commercial TV viewing, as opposed to commercial-free digitally recorded TV or other media without food advertising, in the home was related to greater junk food consumption. Kristen Harrison and Mericarmen Peralta, both of the University of Michigan, will present their findings at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association conference in London. Harrison and Peralta ...

Scientists coax brain to regenerate cells lost in Huntington's disease

2013-06-06

Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease. In the study, which appears today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the scientists were able to both trigger the production of new neurons in mice with the disease and show that the new cells successfully integrated into the brain's existing neural networks, dramatically extending the survival of the treated mice. "This study demonstrates the feasibility of a completely new concept to treat Huntington's disease, by recruiting the brain's endogenous ...

Spanish researchers writing in cell describe the 9 hallmarks of aging

2013-06-06

For some species, living twice as long in good health depends on no more than a few genes. When this fact was revealed by studies on worms three decades ago, it ushered in a golden age of ageing studies that has delivered numerous results, but also sown some confusion. The prestigious journal Cell is now publishing an exhaustive review of the subject that aims to set things straight and "serve as a framework for future studies." All the molecular indicators of ageing in mammals – the nine signatures that mark the advance of time – are set out in its pages. And the authors ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Burden of cardiovascular disease caused by extreme heat in Australia to more than double by 2050

Who does Darth Vader vote for? Not the same party as Harry Potter

Ground breaking advances in construction robotics in extreme environments unveiled in review

New strategies to enhance chiral optical signals unveiled

Cambridge research uncovers powerful virtual reality treatment for speech anxiety

2025 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit to spotlight groundbreaking research

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

Cambridge scientist launches free VR platform that eliminates the fear of public speaking

Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases

Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer