Biomarker may hold key to early diagnosis of lung cancer
By ANIFriday, October 15, 2010
WASHINGTON - Early-stage lung cancer diagnosis may now be possible- as scientists have suggested that a biomarker may be used to develop a potential screening test.
A collaboration between physicians and scientists at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has demonstrated that a biomarker called TCF21 may be used to develop a potential screening test for early-stage lung cancer.
TCF21 is a transcription factor - a protein that binds to DNA, allowing it to reproduce itself accurately, allowing cells to multiply and replace themselves in a consistent manner.
When these transcription factors don’t work properly, cellular growth mechanisms can be disrupted, leading to cancer.
“We were very excited to find evidence of TCF21 hypermethylation in 105 non-small-cell lung cancers of different stages and types, which we then validated by looking at another 300 cases using a tissue microarray,” said Kristy Richards, who led the research.
“More than 80 percent of these cancers show some abnormal expression of this biomarker, meaning that it is a promising target for developing a screening tool.
“This is important to physicians and patients because surgery and other treatments can be much more effective before the cancer has the opportunity to spread,” he said. (ANI)
