Singapore (Commonwealth Union) – The need for more effective less invasive diagnostic procedures for cancer diagnosis has been a longstanding requirement. Biomarkers have increasingly become a key focus in diagnostics and treatment. Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found a novel economical procedure for cancer testing.
The Heatrich-BS assay, is a new test that sequences clinical samples that have been heated for isolating cancer-specific features present in a patient’s blood. The novel procedure provides a promising new option instead of tissue biopsies which are more invasive and at times painful. The test is set to be priced at S$50 (roughly $37 US dollars) from start to finish, when contrasted to other sequencing methods that could go up to S$1,000 (roughly $743 US dollars) to perform.
Assistant Professor Cheow Lih Feng led the team that include researchers from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering under the College of Design and Engineering together with the NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, which is now looking into industry partnerships to make the technology available in the market. Asst Professor Cheow, indicated that having a S$50 test, paves the way for more opportunities as its economical and can be done regularly and emphasized the possibilities for the assay to be made use of for cancer monitoring more often.
Procedures that are currently being used for cancer testing may have a lack of sensitivity or be too costly to be utilized for regular screening. The DNA in our blood, which is the genetic information that instructs our cells how to synthesize proteins and other vital biological building blocks, is formed by different organs in our body. Cancer cells release DNA into the bloodstream as well that can be identified by blood sample analysis, referred to as liquid biopsies which has been in much focus by researchers across the world. However, sifting through all the samples genetic material, is known as whole-genome sequencing, which is generally costly and labor intensive.
Some clinicians instead focus on cancer-specific signatures in cell-free DNA, which is similar to identifying faces in a big group of people rather than of checking every individual. However, this procedure is not perfect, according to Asst Professor Cheow who also said: “Some patients may have cancer signatures that look slightly different and allow them to slip through the screening process.” “We were performing some unrelated experiments, and one of our researchers heated a sample,” he added, recollecting the researchers’ accidental finding that heat destroyed non-informative sections of the genome, keeping CpG island largely intact. This paved the way for them to sequence the remaining genome and identify the presence of cancers for a minute fraction of the average rate.
The Heatrich-BS assay was tested at the National Cancer Centre in Singapore, with observations on patients having colorectal cancer. The contrasting of results for their blood evaluation with CT scans that imaged the size of patients’ tumors, the researchers noted a high correlation between the level of cancer-specific DNA identified in a patient’s blood sample and the tumor size over time.
“This way, doctors can monitor patients for their response to treatment and tailor their therapy regimes,” explained Asst Professor Cheow, who also emphasized that their method has the possibility being applied for all types of cancer as they all show the feature of enriching CpG islands with cancer-specific biomarkers. “It’s a one-size fits all,” he said.
The assay could also play a role in advancing future academic research, assisting researchers study various subtypes of cancer at an economical rate hence improving the production of future cancer diagnostics and treatments.
Asst Prof Cheow and his team are presently working on ways to commercialize their assay by partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that may assist in moving forward the Heatrich-BS assay to the market. “We are excited about our results and licensing discussions are underway,” he said.
