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Multi-cancer early detection via a DNA methylation multiplex ddPCR-based blood test.

Created on 04 May 2025

Authors

Tiago Brito-Rocha, Vera Constâncio, Pedro Leite-Silva, Carina Carvalho-Maia, José Pedro Sequeira, Sofia Salta, João Lobo, Diana Inês Machado, Sandra P Nunes, Rui Silva-Santos, Rui Freitas, Carlos Gonçalves Dias, Cláudia Vieira, Marta Soares, Rui Henrique, Carmen Jerónimo

Published in

International journal of cancer. May 02, 2025. Epub May 02, 2025.

Abstract

Early cancer detection through minimally invasive methods is key for improving patient outcomes. We aimed to assess the performance of a novel blood-based test leveraging DNA methylation patterns for simultaneous detection of lung (LC), breast (BrC), colorectal (CRC), and prostate (PCa) cancer. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) methylation data, we identified shared hypermethylated gene promoters (ADCY4, MIR129-2, NID2, and MAGI2) among those four cancers. Validation was performed using online datasets, an in-house tissue set (N = 179), and plasma samples (N = 485) using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). The test showed sensitivities of 81.82% (lung), 45% (breast), 69.23% (colorectal), and 44.14% (prostate), with 91.04% specificity. Overall, the PanCancer panel achieved 60.1% sensitivity and 87.4% specificity in detecting these four cancers. In early-stage cancers, sensitivities were slightly lower but followed a similar trend. Additionally, the test detected nine other cancer types in plasma. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the feasibility of a single methylation-targeted blood test for multi-cancer detection, offering potential as an affordable and scalable screening tool for early cancer detection.

PMID:
40317486
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 May 2025.

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