SALT LAKE CITY, March 19, 2012Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively. A description of the method and the research results appear online in this month's issue of the EMBO Molecular Medicine journal.
Many cancers result from chromosomal translocations in tumor cells. Hundreds of cancer-causing translocations have been discovered, but current methods for detecting them have significant shortcomings.
The technique, developed in the lab of Stephen Lessnick, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Children's Cancer Research at HCI, combines microarray technology, which can look for thousands of translocations in a single test, with a novel antibody that is used to detect the presence of the translocation.
"We're moving past the age when a pathologist looking through the microscope at a tumor sample is the best way to diagnose what type of cancer it is," said Lessnick. "The molecular tests currently available are slow, inefficient, and expensive, and one of the biggest issues is that you need high-quality tumor samples, not always available in the clinical setting, to do them." According to Lessnick, his method tolerates real-life specimens much better than the current standard techniques.
"Originally, this method was used in HCI's Cairns lab (headed by Bradley R. Cairns, Ph.D.) to study RNA in yeast. We took their method and applied it to our study of chromosomal translocations in human tissue," Lessnick said. He said the next task is to find a commercial partner to develop this research from a 'proof of principle' into a diagnostic test that doctors can use to help their patients.
"With this method, there's potential to develop a single array that could test for every known cancer-causing translocation simultaneousl
'/>"/>
| Contact: Linda Aagard 801-587-7639 University of Utah Health Sciences Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Car tracks beyond the asphalt
2. Beyond Darwin: Evolving new functions
3. Stranglers of the tropics -- and beyond
4. Biodiversity science in Quebec: 2010 and beyond
5. Beyond polar bears? Experts look for a new vision of climate change to combat skepticism
6. Beyond the genome
7. Beyond the corn field: Balancing fuel, food and biodiversity
8. Homebuilding beyond the abyss
9. Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss
10. Beyond genomics, biologists and engineers decode the next frontier
11. Frost & Sullivan Looks at Biometrics Advancement in Civil Security: Exploring Opportunities for Today and Beyond
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |