Scientists come up with early cancer diagnostics

Scientists at Russia's SibEnzyme enterprise in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk have developed a brand new method to diagnose oncological diseases at very early stages, the company’s chief executive, Yevgeny Dubinin, told Itar-Tass at the international forum for technological development Technoprom. The new method allows to detect cancer cells even if the inspected sample (blood, phlegm, urine or smear) contains only few DNA molecules with abnormally methylated (abnormally working, ‘silent’ genes), according to Dubinin. The company’s enzyme, whose patented technology detects methylated genes, is used as a tumor marker. Analysis is simple and reliable - carried out on standard equipment, in one vial and in three stages, it takes only about four hours. “There is almost no early cancer diagnostic in Russia, while treating the disease when it is detected at the third and fourth stages yields little effect,” Dubinin said. The new method will be indispensable for oncological centres, diagnostic laboratories, and other medical institutions, the director added. The estimated market volume is about 5.5 million examinations and 1.8 million for rare types of cancer.