“From DNA alterations indications before clinical symptoms”

2023-10-11 19:11:53

“The new technology is effective and non-invasive. It is essentially based on what DNA tells us today and provides the possibility of analyzing traces, and even micro traces of DNA, through the use of plasma. We look for DNA alterations in our blood which indicate tumors, even localized or distant ones. The blood allows us to detect if there is an alteration that refers to a type of neoplasm, in a non-invasive way. The idea on which the technology is based is to intercept the cancer before that the alteration develops and impacts clinical effects”. This is how Giuseppe Novelli, geneticist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, describes the Helixafe protocol, on the sidelines of the conference presenting a ‘New approach in the prevention of tumors, the first model in the world in Italy’. The event, which took place today in the Senate, was promoted by the Bioscience Foundation, a non-profit association born from the collaboration between the Tor Vergata University of Rome and located at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.

“The technology is there – specifies Novelli – but as with all ‘new’ things we absolutely need to validate and qualify it. Only then can we say that we are there. It is clear that this is the path to follow, because it means anticipating by months, sometimes, but also for years”, a diagnosis “and also finding the right drug for the right person at a given moment. The same chemotherapy for everyone no longer exists – underlines the expert – Now every tumor has its own history , each person has their own tumor, each tumor belongs to that person and therefore we must move towards precision medicine, personalized medicine”.

On the importance of scientific validation, Novelli observes: “As we saw during the Covid experience, in the case of vaccines, two things are necessary. The first concerns a general consensus on the part of public structures, therefore also of political stakeholders and researchers; the second is the preparation of public opinion for the technology. The population must be informed and must not suffer, otherwise we will then have regurgitations as has sometimes happened with vaccines”.