- Researchers say they used CRISPR gene editing technology to engineer a bacteria that detected tumor DNA in mice colons.
- They say the research could some day produce a diagnostic tool that can locate tumors before a cancer starts or spreads.
- Most cancers can be successfully treated if they are diagnosed early enough.
The cancer screenings of the future could be conducted by genetically engineered bacteria if the results of a novel medical breakthrough hold up.
Scientists led by a team at the University of California at San Diego used CRISPR-based gene editing to create bacteria they say detected tumor DNA in the colons of mice.
The researchers note that If the technology is applied successfully to humans, this would represent a non-invasive diagnostic tool that could identify cancer or pre-cancerous DNA to enable doctors to treat patients before cancer spreads or worsens.
The study was recently published in the journal SCIENCE.
“With colorectal cancer being the
“As a medical oncologist who treats patients with cancer every day, our goal is always to detect cancer as early as possible,” he added.
“While the survival rate of colorectal cancer has been ascending steadily over the course of the last few decades, it is important to bring attention to the rising rates we are seeing in adults 50 years of age and under,” Kollimuttathuillam told Medical News Today. “We know that polyps containing cancer cells can be lodged in the colon wall for years and detecting colorectal cancer early before it has spread and when is it more likely to be cured is…
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