A new method for analysing cancerous tumours could potentially lead to more accurate cancer treatment while allowing doctors to understand the disease better.
A team of researchers in Singapore have come up with a way to magnifying small populations of cells so that it is easier to see any changes in them, describing this new method as being similar to having a more powerful microscope.
Until now, clinicians examining tumours and parts of the body made up of rare cells have not been able to analyse them fully because they are made up of only a few cells. Now instead of needing millions of cells for full analysis, the method devised by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Genome Institute of Singapore only needs several thousand cells for accurate analysis and observation of any changes.
Clinicians will be able to identify epigenetic changes, caused when chemical compounds modify the genome. These DNA changes, part of a field known as epigenomics, can be more closely examined using the method devised by the Singapore team.
The team used mouse germ cells, which can become sperm and eggs, to test their method and the success of their discovery was published in the journal Developmental Cell. Their method has been hailed as opening up a new frontier in biological research and a Singapore biotechnology firm has been given the license to develop the method for worldwide use.
Comments are closed.