Cancer Biomarkers Identified Using DNA Methylation Profiles

A biomarker discovery platform compares the DNA methylation patterns of normal and diseased tissue, identifies critical genes, and assesses the diagnostic capabilities of these genes in an array format. The technology has been successfully used to identify a suite of novel and promising biomarkers for the early detection of breast cancer.

The technology, called MethylScope, is a microarray capable of quantitatively detecting the methylation status of each and every human gene. DNA from a tumor sample is labeled with different colors to distinguish methylated and unmethylated fragments. The fragments are hybridized to the MethylScope array and scanned, generating a methylation score for every gene on the array. By comparing methylation profiles of two or more samples, biomarkers are discovered that are associated with specific diseases. MethylScope technology provides a fast, cost-effective, and comprehensive biomarker discovery tool.

MethylScope technology was developed by Orion Genomics (St Louis, MO, USA). The company has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a key patent application that covers MethylScope. The patent is expected to be issued in 2007.

"DNA methylation, an important component of gene regulation, has been strongly linked to cancer in hundreds of publications. However, the hunt for DNA methylation-based biomarkers has been limited in the past to one gene at a time approaches,” said Nathan Lakey, CEO and president of Orion Genomics. "With MethylScope technology, Orion is able to conduct unprecedented genome wide DNA methylation profiling for the discovery of important cancer biomarkers using a fast and cost-effective micro array format.”



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