Datar Cancer Genetics Unveils Exacta AI: A Revolutionary AI-Driven Cancer Treatment Platform

Metropolis Healthcare Partners with Roche to Launch Self-Sampling HPV DNA Test for Cervical Cancer Screening in India

Union Budget 2025: Full Exemption from Basic Customs Duty (BCD) for 36 Lifesaving Drugs

Dr. Jitendra Singh Inaugurates Centre for Advanced Genomics & Precision Medicine at AIIMS Jammu

Union Budget 2025-26: Key Healthcare Measures for Cancer Care and Access to Life-Saving Drugs

FDA Approves Roche’s PATHWAY HER2 Test for Identifying HER2-Ultralow Breast Cancer Patients Eligible for ENHERTU

Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi® Receives CHMP Recommendation for Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma in the EU

NHS to Offer Groundbreaking Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease

Quibim Secures $50M Series A to Advance AI-Powered Imaging for Precision Medicine

Apollo Hospitals Unveils Advanced Oncology Facility in Chennai

Beckman Coulter’s Alzheimer’s Blood Test Receives FDA Breakthrough Device Designation

ANGLE Announces Breakthrough Dual CTC-DNA and ctDNA Analysis with Illumina’s NGS Solution

Diatech Pharmacogenetics and Merck Expand Collaboration to Enhance RAS Biomarker Testing in MEA Region

DCG Unveils AI-Powered Video-Reporting for Personalized Chemotherapy Selection

FDA Approves Monthly Maintenance Dosing for LEQEMBI® in Alzheimer’s Treatment

Home
/
update
/
details

NEMO A Precision Tool for Monitoring Prostate Cancer Transitions and Treatment Efficacy

NextEdge Admin

02 Jan 2024

2 min 46 sec

Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Trento, Italy, have developed a groundbreaking blood test that distinguishes neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) from adenocarcinoma, providing a non-invasive method to detect this transition in the advanced stage of the disease. NEPC is a challenging form of prostate cancer, and as treatments become more effective, there is a rise in treatment-resistant types like NEPC.

The current diagnosis of NEPC involves an invasive tumor biopsy from a metastatic tumor, but determining the optimal time for this procedure is challenging, and results can be inconclusive due to tumor heterogeneity. The newly developed blood test, named NEMO (NEuroendocrine MOnitoring panel), leverages previous research on genetic and epigenetic changes associated with NEPC development. It focuses on examining cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shed by tumors in the blood, specifically targeting methylation changes across the genome.

The NEMO test distinguishes between castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and NEPC by measuring the methylation of relevant DNA fragments in blood plasma. By analyzing a minimal and efficient panel of genes, NEMO can report both the tumor fraction, indicating disease burden, and the tumor type, whether CRPC or NEPC. The test provides a score on a continuum, accommodating cases where the cancer may be transitioning between subtypes.

The researchers have successfully evaluated NEMO in preclinical models and blood samples from various patient cohorts with known prostate cancer subtypes. Clinical trials involving aggressive CRPC patients demonstrated consistent results, suggesting that NEMO could monitor treatment effectiveness by indicating decreased tumor burden, especially crucial after the cancer has transitioned to NEPC. The researchers aim to explore the test’s potential in predicting patient responses to specific prostate cancer treatments targeting NEPC.