Two UCSD Moores Cancer Center researchers are developing an innovative method that would allow medical professionals to detect cancer earlier than ever before.

Professors of medicine Yu-Tsueng Liu and Dennis A. Carson have developed the ability to detect a cancerous mutation when just a few cells ­- about 0.1 percent – in a sample contain a mutation. Currently, the best cancer detection methods are unable to identify malignant tumors until they consist of approximately one million cells.

The new detection technique, known as primer approximation multiplex PCR, identifies the presence of a cancerous mutation in a cell. Using the PAMP method, only the DNA region containing the mutation is multiplied, allowing for a positive identification with very few cancerous cells.

Liu and Carson worked with a particular mutation that occurs on a region of DNA known as CDKN2A. Among other functions, the CDKN2A region of DNA plays a role in regulating cell death through a multi-step pathway. According to Liu, several types of cancer, including breast, pancreatic, lung and brain cancer, often have a mutation in the CDKN2A region. The PAMP detection method can identify mutations in other regions of DNA as well.

Another goal of the researchers’ work is to advance what Liu termed “”personalized care.”” Drugs currently used to treat cancer often kill healthy cells along with cancerous cells. By using PAMP to spot precisely which mutations are causing an individual’s cancer, target-specific drugs can be designed to attack only mutated DNA and its protein products. Meanwhile, cells with healthy DNA remain unharmed.

“”The project is just starting,”” Liu said. “”A collaborative effort among biological and optical engineers, molecular and computational biologists, nanotechnology experts and physicians is necessary for our research to advance, not to mention the need for a steady stream of funding.””

Liu and Carson have submitted a provisional patent application for the PAMP method.

The joint fields of medicine and research must remain open to new ideas in order for the research to progress to clinical trials, Liu said.

“”A parallel development must take place in order for this method to work in the clinic,”” he said. “”We need to work on the engineering problems and we must improve the speed of the assay as well as reduce the cost.””

The two researchers published their findings in the online journal PLoS One on April 18.