Protein promises oesophageal and stomach cancer diagnostic
This article was originally published in Clinica
US scientists have pinpointed a protein that they believe could lead to improved methods for diagnosing cancer of the oesophagus and stomach.
Researchers from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have shown that the protein, called guanylyl cyclase C (GCC), is present in intestinal metaplasia, a condition that leads to the cancers in around 10% of cases.
The researchers, led by Dr Stephanie Shulz and Dr Jason Park, assessed 18 patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach or oesophagus. They detected GCC mRNA in all five cases of oesophageal cancer and in eight of the nine cases of stomach cancer. Moreover, the marker was found in "healthy" tissue adjacent to the cancers in nine cases, indicating that it may be a sign of early molecular changes associated with the development of cancer.
Dr Shulz, who presented the findings at the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics meeting in Atlanta last month, plans to study GCC expression in a larger number of patients. Her team is also working towards the development of an antibody that can better detect the presence of GCC.