Norwegian test for cancer makes world debut
Developed in Norway, a new test to detect breast cancer is now being launched in India, with European clinics next in line.
(Photo: DiaGenic)
Bringing that first product to market is always a special milestone for a biotechnology firm. Many promising products never get that far, for a variety of reasons - a lack of funding, perhaps, or a technology that did not quite work as intended.
Norwegian biotechnology company DiaGenic, listed on the Oslo stock exchange, has just reached that often-elusive milestone: Their breast cancer test, developed in-house, is now available on the Indian market. Europe is the next destination. Surprisingly, the success story began with forestry research in Ås, Norway.
From stress research on trees
Researchers Anders Lönneborg and Praveen Sharma first began to suspect that their research on stress in coniferous trees could be applied to other organisms as well while working in their laboratory at what is now called the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute. The two forestry researchers discovered that if a tree had a diseased section, it was possible to measure changes in its genetic expression at other, healthy places in the tree - in part because the immune system would be mobilised. They realised that this could be useful in diagnosing disease in humans as well; on this basis, DiaGenic was founded in 1998.
Thus began the development of the method and technology behind the newly launched breast cancer test. Underway, the researchers have expended huge amounts of energy convincing the world that their solution would work, as many found it difficult to understand that what works for trees can work for humans.
Measures changes in blood cells
(Photo: DiaGenic)
DiaGenic's breast cancer test and the other diagnostic tests the company is developing are based on changes in messenger RNA (mRNA) that occur in the body's white blood cells when disease is present. mRNA is the mediating template between DNA, our genes and the proteins we synthesise. Our white blood cells reflect many of the body's changes; as our bodies fight disease, certain genes will be activated and deactivated. This process can be measured, and then a diagnosis can be made by knowing which genes are normally turned on and off in healthy women versus which are turned on and off in women with breast cancer.
DiaGenic has been able to determine these genetic differences in collaboration with the Norwegian Radium Hospital in Oslo and Professor Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale there. The project receives funding from the Research Council's National Programme for Research in Functional Genomics in Norway (FUGE).
"By analysing a woman's blood sample, we can now determine with great accuracy whether breast cancer is present or not," says Erik Christensen, CEO of DiaGenic.
Life-saving for young women
The breast cancer test is meant to supplement mammography. If a woman tests positive, she is referred to mammography and biopsy to determine definitively whether she indeed has breast cancer.
The advantage of the DiaGenic test is twofold: it works better on younger women and for earlier stages of cancer. Younger women have denser breast tissue, making it more difficult to detect the presence of a tumour. Mammography has also proven unreliable in identifying small tumours - and diagnosing breast cancer as early as possible is a highly important factor in reducing its spread and increasing the patient's potential for survival.
The project's researchers have established that this testing method can also be used to combat other diseases. Next up for DiaGenic is the development of tests for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
DiaGenic
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- Published:
- 16.09.2008
- Last updated:
- 18.09.2008
