Mayo Clinic Laboratory and Pathology Research Roundup: Sept. 10

The Research Roundup provides an overview of the past week’s research from Mayo Medical Laboratories consultants, including featured abstracts and complete list of published studies and reviews.


Featured Abstract

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Detection by Plasma Methylated DNA: Discovery, Phase I Pilot, and Phase II Clinical Validation

Early detection improves hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) outcomes, but better noninvasive surveillance tools are needed. Mayo Clinic researchers aimed to identify and validate methylated DNA markers (MDMs) for HCC detection. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing was performed on DNA extracted from 18 HCC and 35 control tissues. A phase I plasma pilot incorporated quantitative allele-specific real time target and signal amplification assays on independent plasma-extracted DNA from 21 HCC cases and 30 cirrhotic controls. A phase II plasma study was then performed in 95 HCC cases, 51 cirrhosis controls, and 98 healthy controls using target enrichment long-probe quantitative amplified signal (TELQAS) assays. Based on the results, novel MDMs identified in this study proved to accurately detect HCC via plasma testing. Further optimization and clinical testing of this promising approach are indicated. The study was published in Case Reports in Hepatology.


Published to PubMed This Week

Kelley Luedke

Kelley Luedke is a Marketing Channel Manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She is the principle editor and writer of Insights and leads social media and direct marketing strategy. Kelley has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2013. Outside of work, you can find Kelley running, traveling, playing with her kitty, and exploring new foods.