U.K. scientists have identified changes in the patterns of sugar molecules that line precancerous cells in the esophagus (Barrett's dysplasia), making it easier to detect and remove these cells before they develop into esophageal cancer (Nature Medicine, January 15, 2012).
The findings, by researchers at the Medical Research Council, have important implications for patients and may help to monitor their condition and prevent the development of cancer.
Esophageal cancer is the fifth biggest cause of cancer death in the U.K. and the eighth leading cause of cancer deaths for men in the U.S., the researchers noted.
They discovered a new mechanism for identifying Barrett's dysplasia cells by spraying on a fluorescent probe that sticks to sugars and lights up any abnormal areas during endoscopy. When they analyzed the sugars present in human tissue samples taken from different stages on the pathway to cancer using microarray technology, they found that different sugar molecules were present on the surface of the precancerous cells.
This approach uses sugar-binding proteins (lectins) to identify changes in sugars and pinpointed carbohydrate binding wheat germ proteins as a potential diagnostic. When the wheat germ proteins, attached to a fluorescent tag that glows under a specific type of light, were sprayed onto tissue samples, it showed decreased binding in areas of dysplasia, and these cells were clearly marked compared with the glowing green background.
