Cancers of the breast, uterus, cervix and ovaries can be tested simultaneously with a new method.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – A new test method can detect cancer years before diagnosis. This new testing method can detect up to four types of cancer at a time.
The performance and effectiveness of this new test was revealed through a study in the journal Genome medicine. The study results show that this new test can accurately detect cellular changes that can turn into cervical cancer.
This test can also recognize DNA markers for some cancers. That is, this test can be used to predict the likelihood of developing cancer in the future. The types of cancer that can be predicted are breast cancer, cancer of the uterus, cervical cancer, and ovarian cancer.
In detecting cellular changes related to cervical cancer, the researchers also found that the new test performed better than current testing methods. In people who do not have cellular alterations but are exposed human papilloma virus (HPV), this new test can detect 55% of people who will experience cellular changes in the next four years.
As is known, most of the cases cervical cancer triggered by HPV. This new test method works by detecting DNA methylation. For information, the DNA contains all the genes obtained from the parents, while the DNA methylationit serves to tell the cells which part of the DNA to be read.
Factors such as smoking, exposure to pollution, poor diet and obesity can trigger changes in DNA methylation. This condition can later lead to changes in cellular behavior.
This latest study uses 1,254 samples selection cervix in three groups of women. The three groups were women with cellular abnormalities with a low to high risk of cancer, women with HPV who had no cervical cell abnormalities, and women with no cervical cell abnormalities but at high risk of cellular abnormalities within four years.
