New cancer diagnostics developed
Molecular techniques and technologies have developed rapidly over the past few decades, and new methods are becoming available all the time. Finding applications for these methods in cancer diagnosis and treatment is an important and ongoing task. The EU-funded DIATOOLS (Tools for minimally invasive diagnostics) aimed to put new molecular tools to use to analyse patient samples for signs of cancer or cancer progression. Partners around Europe contributed devices, methods and expertise to DIATOOLS' repertoire of diagnostic tools. These included methods for isolating, detecting and measuring cells, proteins and DNA from human samples. One such method measured a set of nearly 100 proteins from a finger-prick test, looking for signs of cancer and other diseases. Another test could identify rare DNA mutations in melanoma patients from blood samples. Another aspect of the project focused on devices that enable this kind of test. DIATOOLS developed devices to isolate tumour cells circulating in the blood, and a device to detect and amplify single molecules in a sample. In the near future, these tools will have applications for researchers and pharmaceutical companies. In the long term, they will make clinicians' lives easier and improve cancer patient outcomes.
Keywords
Cancer, cancer diagnosis, molecular techniques, minimally invasive, tumour cells
