title: The promise of methylation on beads for cancer detection and treatment.
abstract: Despite numerous technical hurdles, the realization of true personalized medicine is becoming a progressive reality for the future of patient care. With the development of new techniques and tools to measure the genetic signature of tumors, biomarkers are increasingly being used to detect occult tumors, determine the choice of treatment and predict outcomes. Methylation of CpG islands at the promoter region of genes is a particularly exciting biomarker as it is cancer-specific. Older methods to detect methylation were cumbersome, operator-dependent and required large amounts of DNA. However, a newer technique called methylation on beads has resulted in a more uniform, streamlined and efficient assay. Furthermore, methylation on beads permits the extraction and processing of miniscule amounts of methylated tumor DNA in the peripheral blood. Such a technique may aid in the clinical detection and treatment of cancers in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Angela A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Guzzetta
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Pisanic Ii
authors.forename: Prateek
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Joo Mi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Tza-Huei
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Nita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahuja
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008863:Microspheres; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: CpG island methylation; biomarker; cancer detection; colon cancer; methylation on bead; pancreatic cancer; personalized medicine