New advances in the early detection of cancer
Physicians at Innsbruck University Hospital are developing a new test for the early detection of ovarian and breast cancer. A simple smear determines epigenetic imprints without an invasive tissue sample.
(red/me/czaak) The individual risk of developing cancer depends on genetic and non-genetic factors. The oncologist Martin Widschwendter is head of the European Oncology Prevention & Screening Institute (EUTOPS), which was founded by the state of Tyrol and implemented in cooperation with the University of Innsbruck and the Tyrol Clinics, at the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck with locations in Hall and Zams.
The renowned physician is also working here on new methods for cancer prevention and early detection, taking so-called epigenetic footprints into account. The newly developed WID test (Women’s Cancer Risk IDentification) can now use a simple cervical swab to predict both ovarian and breast cancer without an invasive tissue sample from the tumor.
The individual cancer risk and the epigenome
The epigenome plays a crucial role in cell function by determining the identity and activity of a cell through markings on the human genome. “Every human cell contains exactly the same information related to DNA, which we can call genetic hardware. But which program is called up in the cell is determined by the epigenome – the software of our cells, so to speak,” explains Widschwendter.
The researchers now examined DNA methylation as a specific part of the epigenome and the influence of genetic and non-genetic factors. “External factors such as smoking, nutrition or hormones, but also influences on the embryo in the womb or aging lead to changes in DNA methylation. These are DNA markers that increase or decrease the expression of certain genes in the cell and thus also influence the risk of cancer,” explains Widschwendter. “That’s what makes them so interesting, because all these factors leave epigenetic footprints on the DNA that our new WID tests make visible.”
Important partial success
“We know that ovarian cancer and breast cancer and other cancers specific to women are diseases of epithelial cells. Hormones also play a major role in these cancers. To determine our cancer risk, we therefore need epithelial cells that are also hormone-dependent,” explains Widschwendter. “Cells of the cervix fulfill both properties and they can be obtained very easily and non-invasively with a normal cervical smear.”
The WID tests examine the epigenetic footprint for each type of cancer individually and calculate an individual WID index (Women’s Cancer Risk IDentification) that indicates the risk for the various cancers. The successes listed have now been achieved for ovarian and breast cancer and have also recently been published in Nature Communications.
Different epigenetic imprints in just one cervical swab
The research team performed an epigenome-wide analysis in 289 women with ovarian cancer, 727 women with breast cancer and 1410 women without a cancer diagnosis from 15 European centres. The WID tests for the analysis of the epigenetic footprints for breast and ovarian cancer could be identified with a high probability in women with cancer using a single probe from the cervical swab.
“Our WID tests follow a completely new approach and assess the individual risk for more than one type of cancer by examining different epigenetic footprints in a single cervical swab,” emphasizes Martin Widschwendter from the Institute for Prevention and Screening at Innsbruck University Hospital. “Cancer prevention and early detection is personalized and women can be examined and treated on the basis of their individual risk factors,” says the top doctor.
Congratulations from the state of Tyrol and the federal health facility in Austria
“I congratulate Martin Widschwendter, who, with his team from Tyrol, has achieved an internationally recognized breakthrough in women’s medicine,” says Annette Leja, Tyrolean Minister for Health, Science and Research. “The current research shows likely findings to enable targeted treatments and prevent deaths,” adds Herwig Ostermann, Managing Director of Gesundheit Österreich (GÖG).
The state of Tyrol supports the European Oncology Prevention & Screening Institute (EUTOPS) with locations in Hall and Zams, which is affiliated with the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck and the Tyrol Clinics. The current research was funded by the EU funding program Horizon 2020 and the European Research Council, as well as significant support from the British charity “The Eve Appeal”.