Abstract

Early detection of cancer is critical to improving clinical outcomes, especially in territories with limited healthcare resources. DNA methylation biomarkers have shown promise in early cancer detection, but typical workflows require highly trained personnel and specialized equipment for manual and lengthy processing, limiting use in resource-constrained areas. As a potential solution, we introduce the Automated Cartridge-based Cancer Early Screening System (ACCESS), a compact, portable, multiplexed, automated platform that performs droplet magnetofluidic- and methylation-specific qPCR-based assays for the detection of DNA methylation cancer biomarkers. Development of ACCESS focuses on esophageal cancer, which is among the most prevalent cancers in low- and middle-income countries with extremely low survival rates. Upon implementing detection assays for two esophageal cancer methylation biomarkers within ACCESS, we demonstrated successful detection of both biomarkers from esophageal tumor tissue samples from eight esophageal cancer patients while showing specificity in paired normal esophageal tissue samples. These results illustrate ACCESS's potential as an amenable epigenetic diagnostic tool for resource-constrained areas toward early detection of esophageal cancer and potentially other malignancies.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.