2023-08-03 15:45:45
Endometrial cancer is one of the most common among women; it affects more than 400,000 women a year worldwide. Currently, diagnostic methods are invasive and painful, mostly through endometrial biopsies.
Two studies show that non-invasive samples such as urine, cytology or a vaginal self-sample, through small tampon-like devices, would be useful for detecting endometrial cancer. This would mean a reliable and easy-to-use tool that would make it possible to know the prognosis of each woman and adjust the treatment to her needs.
These investigations have been led by the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), located in Hospitalet de Llobregat and which is one of the CERCA institutions of the Generalitat of Catalonia. .
Using urine samples or vaginal self-samples, instead of using conventional diagnostic methods, the same patients could take the sample without any harm.
“Non-invasive methods could reduce the pressure of care, the need for referral to a specialist and contribute to a faster diagnosis that improves patient survival. We must bear in mind that a delay in diagnosis forces the use of more aggressive treatments and represents a worse prognosis”, says Dr. Laura Costas, principal investigator at IDIBELL and the Catalan Institute of Oncology, member of CIBERESP (Spain), and leader of the proyects.
Judging from the results of the two studies, it is feasible to diagnose and know the prognosis of endometrial cancer with a vaginal self-sample or with a urine sample. (Photo: IDIBELL)
The two studies have had the participation of epidemiologists, gynecologists, pathologists, geneticists, and bioinformaticians from the aforementioned institutions.
Researchers have analyzed DNA from samples from nearly 160 women with endometrial cancer and compared it with that of the original tumor. Specifically, the 47 most commonly mutated genes in endometrial cancer have been sequenced.
Mutations similar to those of the original tumor have been detected in 100% of the urine samples and in 73% of the vaginal samples analyzed, which positions them as very promising non-invasive tests for the diagnosis and classification of endometrial cancer. . The mutated gene that can be identified in non-invasive samples determines its behavior and, therefore, the prognosis of the disease. For this reason, knowing the molecular identity of each tumor is highly relevant for carrying out a more effective personalized therapy.
One of the studies, whose first signatory is Laura Costas, is entitled “Evaluation of somatic mutations in urine samples as a non-invasive method for the detection and molecular classification of endometrial cancer”. And it has been published in the academic journal Clinical Cancer Research.
The other study, whose first author is Beatriz Pelegrina from IDIBELL, is entitled “Evaluation of somatic mutations in cervicovaginal samples as a non-invasive method for the detection and molecular classification of endometrial cancer”. And it has been published in the academic journal eBioMedicine. (Source: IDIBELL)
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