Sergio Serrano-Villar, from the Health Research Institute of the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, leads a project whose purpose is to develop a new diagnostic tool to early detect anal cancer in susceptible populations. “We wonder if we can take advantage of the microbiome – the set of bacteria and their functions that coexist with us – to make this early detection,” explains the scientist. Currently, to diagnose this type of cancer, a two-step strategy is used, similar to cervical cancer screening: anal cytology and, if there are alterations, high-resolution anoscopy. The problem is that anal cytology produces alterations in two thirds of the cases with many false positives. This means that it is necessary to perform many ultimately normal anoscopy, when there is little availability of this test, argues Serrano-Villar.
In previous studies, the team has found that anal epithelial bacteria show different activity in people with anal precancerous lesions (high-grade anal dysplasia) compared to those without them. This activity can be detected by measuring two metabolites in samples collected for anal cytology. They are cobalamin and succinyl coenzyme A. Measuring these two metabolites, says the project leader, drastically reduces false positives in anal cytology and manages to more accurately select patients who require high-resolution anoscopy to treat lesions. anal precancerous.
The group is working on a tool for the determination of these metabolites that is easy to apply in clinical practice, with the longer-term idea of ??developing a diagnostic test that can be managed by the patient themselves, similar to a pregnancy test or a pregnancy test. covid.
Transparency statement: This research is funded by the “la Caixa” Foundation, an entity that supports the Big Vang scientific information channel.
