Randox Laboratories has come up with a biochip array for simultaneous quantitative diagnosis of three tumor markers in a single patient sample. This provides a quick, reliable and low-cost method for the screening of prostate cancer. The currently used PSA measurement is not a sufficient diagnostic tool in itself. The new technology from Randox is based on an ELISA format.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved GE Healthcare’s molecular imaging agent AdreView™ (Iobenguane I 123 Injection) for the detection of rare neuroendocrine tumors in children and adults. The product provides images of high quality that assist physicians in the detection of tumors, at the initial stage as well as at the time when relapse is suspected. AdreView™ marks an advancement in diagnosis of cancer patients suffering from neuroblastoma. It will also identify primary and metastatic pheochromocytoma.

Scientists will, now, be able to understand the movement of cells in the area around tumors (tumor microenvironment) in a better way. Researchers at University of California, San Francisco used optimized methods of laser microscopy to track the movement of live cells in a mouse model of breast cancer. Cancerous growth is supported by some normal cells while the immune cells protect the body against the tumor. The study aims to identify drug targets which can be withdrawn to prevent cancer and stimulate those that enhance the immunity of body towards the disease.

Randox Laboratories Ltd has come up with RanplexCRC , a diagnostic test that can detect 28 polymorphisms associated with colorectal cancer in a single stool sample. It does not require a hospital visit or restrictions on diet. Moreover, the test shows greater sensitivity than the diagnosis process in use currently, the Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) screening test. By profiling the patients more accurately, the test will save time and resources. There will be lesser number of patients for colonoscopy, and the patients will be saved from discomfort.

Roche´s xCELLigence system is a facile, high content, and cell based kinase assay allowing for monitoring short term RTK activation and the long term biologic effect of the activation in real time in a single well. The advanced technology has improved in providing information on intracellular activity. The system is label-free, capable of monitoring cellular changes in real-time, and non-invasive. The technology does not need intensive optimization or special reagents such as peptides, antibodies, or probes. Also, it does not suffer from assay component interference.

According to British researchers, changes in blood flow within the brain in low-grade gliomas detected by MRI technology can help predict the occurrence of malignant brain tumors. Adam D. Waldman, Imaging Research Director at Imperial College National Health Service Trust in London, says that the treatment of low-grade gliomas has been controversial because the therapeutic options are not curative and the suspected patients are young and clinically well at the time of treatment.

Adjustment of cervical cancer screening protocols as a woman ages may be cost-effective, regardless of whether she has been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer.

Since the release of cervical cancer screening guidelines in 2001 and 2003, more data has become available showing that HPV DNA-based testing is more effective in detecting precancerous changes in a woman’s cervix than standard cytology (Pap) tests. With these data and the development of a vaccine that prevents two types of HPV infection, analyses are needed that estimate both the effectiveness and cost of different screening strategies for U.S. women.

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