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National Institute of Radiological Sciences Develops DNA Chip-based Risk Prediction System for Side-effect Occurrence in Cancer Radiation Therapy |
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31 Mar 2006 |
TOKYO, Japan | Mar 31, 2006 | The Frontier Research Center of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) has developed a system for predicting the occurrence of side-effects in cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.
The new system uses a DNA chip to analyze 57 different genetic polymorphic markers in blood DNAs. Then, the analysis results are input into a special database to determine the radiation sensitivity of subjects. The Center has developed the DNA chip using an allele-specific primer extension method in collaboration with Sumitomo Bakelite.
The system does not require any special device. Rather, the procedure can be carried out with a constant-temperature device commonly used in clinical inspection and it only takes three hours to complete.
The Center, which has so far analyzed 2,000 patients, plans to analyze an additional 1,000 patients to beef up the database. Further, it will proceed with further research with the aim of developing a similar system that can predict the risks of delayed side-effects in radiation therapy.
SOURCE: NIRS |
