Biotech Company Says It Has Identified 200 DNA-Based Markers for Colon Cancer

Epigenomics, a transatlantic biotech company,announced that it had identified more than 200 Methylated Sequence Tags (MeSTs or DNA based markers) that could be used for early detection of colon cancer.

Epigenomics said it believed the methylation-based DNA markers would enable detection of colon cancer much earlier than at present, letting physicians develop the best treatment for existing disease and better identify people at risk of developing the disease.

These markers are the first results to be announced from a large-scale genome wide screening effort of all major human tumors for DNA methylation markers in tissue and serum. The company, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, said the research was carried out at its high-throughput discovery facility in Seattle, Washington.

"These results truly reveal the power of Epigenomics Marker Machine. Such novel DNA methylation markers could form the backbone of tomorrow's molecular diagnostics.," said Andrzej Sledziewski, head of R&D at Epigenomics in Seattle.

Other Sources: Epigenomics