Tumour DNA signature ‘could represent multipurpose cancer biomarker’

A new US study has identified a possible cancer biomarker that could be used to detect a number of different variations of the disease.

Researchers from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found a characteristic signature in tumour DNA that occurs in five different types of cancer – colon, lung, breast, stomach and endometrial.

A result of a chemical modification of DNA called methylation, a process controlling the expression of genes, the elevated methylation signature around the ZNF154 gene was found to be unique to tumours.

This mark was seen across 15 tumour types in 13 different organs, meaning it could be a potential universal cancer biomarker with links to even more types of cancer beyond those included in this study.

It represents the first candidate biomarker to apply to such a wide selection of cancer types.

Dr Laura Elnitski, a computational biologist at NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute, said: "We have laid the groundwork for developing a diagnostic test, which offers the hope of catching cancer earlier and dramatically improving the survival rate of people with many types of cancer."