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Epigenomic colon cancer kit

Nature Biotechnology volume 27, page 1066 (2009)Cite this article

A blood-based epigenetic test for colon cancer has been launched in Europe, a diagnostic tool that could boost screening compliance and lead to significant cost savings. The Epi proColon test from Berlin-based Epigenomics detects methylation patterns in cell-free DNA in blood plasma. The assay converts all nonmethylated cytosine residues into thymine followed by PCR, which amplifies a region of the gene septin 9—specifically methylated in colon cancer—for quantitative assessment. The company hopes that its noninvasive assay is easier to use than stool-based fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs), currently the mainstay for early detection, but it does not see it replacing colonoscopy for a definitive diagnosis. The test is the first epigenetic diagnostic to be sold as a kit to laboratories; other epigenetic-based tests on the market, including cancer diagnostics and a test to predict how brain-tumor patients will respond to treatment, are run in the diagnostics makers' laboratories. The Epi proColon test, which consistently identifies 70% of cancers, could potentially lead to significant savings for healthcare providers by reducing screening costs and the cost of treating advanced cancers. But Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colorectal cancers at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, has his concerns. “If it has to be done on a population basis once a year, frankly there's going to be no cost savings whatsoever,” he said, citing cheaper annual FOBT and decadal colonoscopy costs.

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  1. Asher Mullard
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Mullard, A. Epigenomic colon cancer kit. Nat Biotechnol 27, 1066 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1209-1066a

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