Unavailable marker
Will the innovative method of cancer diagnosis invented by Siberian scientists be introduced?
Angelina Deryabina, "Soviet Siberia", 15.03.2017
Hundreds of examinations for real patients have proved the effectiveness of the unique method of recognizing thyroid cancer at an early stage developed in Akademgorodok. However, the innovation has not yet received funding.
Researchers from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IMCB) SB RAS have found a way to diagnose malignant tumors at an early stage at the molecular genetic level. Now they can do amazing things, namely predict the course of the disease and assess the risks of relapses of a dangerous disease, and all this on the basis of panels of micro-RNA and somatic mutations.
Fate on the glass
The discovery of scientists is not a vague future at all, it is already working. The Institute's laboratory has studied the data of more than 800 patients, mainly with regard to thyroid neoplasms, but the technology is also effective for recognizing other types of cancer.
– So far there are only two such developments in the world – here and in America, – says Academician Igor Zhimulev, director of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of the SB RAS. – Moreover, we created this prototype test system independently, using the latest technologies of molecular biology, simultaneously with the Americans at the end of 2015. The key to our success was close cooperation with leading cancer clinics in Novosibirsk and the company "Vector-Best" – one of the leaders in our country in the production of reagent kits for the diagnosis of human diseases, as well as our brains and hands. This development and the innovative approach used is the future of modern medicine, it can become a matter of pride both for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and for our entire region. And we don't have to wait for these innovations to come from abroad. We have everything so that this development already helps people.
The correspondent of "Soviet Siberia" visited the laboratory where scientists are working with new markers. Several dozen patients are waiting for either a verdict or the joyful news that everything will be fine for them!
– These glasses with samples are the fate of people, – shows several dozen small packages signed with an ordinary ballpoint pen, a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of the IMKB SB RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences Nikolai Kolesnikov. – That's why we check dozens of times before passing a verdict. According to the International Agency for Cancer Research, Russia ranks first in the world in terms of mortality from cancer. This is largely due to late detection, mainly at the third or fourth stage. Therefore, since 2011, studying the role of micro-RNA in the processes of carcinogenesis, we have taken up the development of early diagnosis of neoplasms. In particular, the thyroid gland.
Not to lose an apartment and live
It turns out that nodular formations of the thyroid gland occur in half of the population over 50 years old. So far, the main methods of diagnosing tumors are ultrasound and biopsy followed by cytological examination. Sometimes, in order to make a diagnosis, patients undergo surgery. Often, the success of these methods depends on the qualifications of the physician and some other circumstances. Markers based on DNA and RNA do not allow for discrepancies, they provide accurate molecular genetic information about cancer cells, the stage of development of the disease, the potential for metastasis, complementing the diagnosis, and in controversial cases – establishing the type of neoplasm. According to Nikolai Kolesnikov, on the basis of the panel invented by Siberian scientists, it became possible to distinguish between benign and malignant neoplasms.
– And in difficult cases, when there is no certainty of diagnosis and traditional research methods do not work, – explains the scientist. – The fact is that doctors face a situation where it is impossible to exclude cancer in every tenth, and sometimes every third case. In addition, with the help of markers, we can distinguish, for example, papillary and medullary carcinoma – two completely different cancers that are treated differently. We also determine a person's resistance or susceptibility to a particular drug in the fight against cancer. There was a case when it was not possible to determine a mutation in melanoma anywhere in Novosibirsk. This mutation, by the way, also manifests itself in rectal cancer and a number of other diseases. It is extremely difficult to detect it at the initial stage, only on postoperative material. And the patient needed to know whether it made sense to buy expensive medicine, for which he might have to sell the apartment. Or it will be ineffective, and you need to apply another method of treatment. We have determined this.
The revolution is coming from below
Moscow sends such tests abroad. The minimum cost of the study is two thousand dollars, but it can reach up to three or four thousand!
– Last October I was at the Eurasian Thyroid Congress, – says Nikolai Kolesnikov. – When I reported on our work, the Americans were shocked that we have it. We can do this, we can do it cheaper, and it's affordable!
The method of Siberian scientists has an advantage over its American counterpart: for analysis, it is not necessary to take additional material from the patient, laboratory glasses with samples made by medical institutions for their own purposes are enough. Some Novosibirsk clinics, including the City Clinical Hospital No. 1, the Road Clinical Hospital, as well as cancer centers of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tomsk, Ulyanovsk, Krasnodar, participate in such a comprehensive study of oncologies together with the IMCB SB RAS.
"It is obvious that the revolutionary methods of molecular biology and molecular genetics are designed to play a significant role in medicine and, most importantly, to integrate into the practical part of healthcare," Kolesnikov believes. – This is a real practical way out for the patient, which can affect the success of treatment. Therefore, now even from other medical institutions we are being asked to help and suggest what and how specific patients have.
Who will give you the money?
It would seem that the most difficult thing is over: a technique has been found that can already help to effectively fight for people's lives. However, according to Nikolai Kolesnikov, the continuation of research requires a lot of money, and almost all funds whose purpose is to help developers implement the results in practical medicine are interested in one thing: what profit will it bring?
– We need to transfer the development so that it begins to serve our country, – says the scientist. – But there is no one to transmit and implement it. There are no conditions, no system that would allow to further introduce this into medical practice free of charge. There are no frames. The paradox is that healthcare does not really need it, because it requires a lot of financial costs. So far, no one but us is able to implement this, but it must be done, because otherwise we will continue to travel to the West. We have submitted applications for projects to the Skolkovo Foundation three times – for leukemia, thyroid cancer and cervical cancer. They passed the selection and became finalists of the competition. It is assumed that the institute will be given five million for the development of the initiative project, but so far only certificates for participation. It is necessary to see clearly, not to follow a bureaucratic scheme. But no one is ready yet.
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16.03.2017