ARTIFICIAL MOLES COULD SERVE AS CANCER WARNING SYSTEM

Geneva, April 19: Scientists have developed a synthetic gene network that serves as an early warning system against cancer, producing visible moles on the skin as soon as the system detects the development of a tumour in the body.

Cancer has become the one of the top causes of death in industrialised countries. Many of those affected are diagnosed only after the tumour has developed extensively. This often reduces the chance recovery significantly.

The ability to detect such tumours reliably and early would not only save lives, but also reduce the need for stressful treatment.

The gene network, developed by researchers from ETH Zurich in of Switzerland, recognises the four most common types of cancer — prostate, lung, colon and breast cancer — at a very early stage, when the level of calcium in the blood is elevated.

The early warning system comprises a genetic network that researchers

integrate into human body cells.

This encapsulated gene network is then implanted under the skin.

As soon as the calcium level exceeds a particular threshold value over a longer period of time, a signal cascade is triggered that initiates production of the body’s tanning pigment melanin in the genetically modified cells. The skin then forms a brown mole that is visible to the naked eye.