Awwal 30, 1432 H/March 5, 2011, SPA -- British medical researchers say they have found DNA markers that may aid early diagnosis of bowel cancer, according to UPI. Gene tests distinguished very accurately between tumors and benign polyps, the Cambridge Research Institute team reports in the medical journal Gut. The findings were reported by the BBC. The researchers analyzed 261 tissue samples for their DNA methylation patterns, a key process in cell development. In healthy cells, a compound called a methyl group keeps certain genes from producing proteins. The process can malfunction in cancer cells, and DNA methylation also can backfire by blocking protective genes. "The majority of bowel cancers develop from benign polyps that turn cancerous, and this crucial research deepens our understanding of the molecular changes behind this development," wrote lead author Ashraf Ibrahim. "This first step in detecting molecular 'flags' for bowel cancer, could, one day, lead to a simple test to search DNA for the early signs of the disease."
