Methylome: Another “ome” to the Rescue
October 20, 2009 | Terry Sharrer
In the end, all cancers have protein features, which may not be traced to genes or gene expression patterns. Post translational modification, by the addition of, say, a methyl group to a normal protein can lead to a malignancy. All the proteins that can be modified by methylation make up the “methylome” and a Belgian company, OncoMethylome Sciences has developed a simple blood test that can detect colon cancer based on methylation. In a recent trial, it proved 77% accurate (in patients known to have the disease). MORE