TECHNOLOGY FOR DNA DAMAGE MARKERS IN CERVICAL CANCER

Prototype carbon column switching (CCS) systems (1) have been applied to measuring free levels of DNA adducts in PAP smear and cervico vaginal lavage sample indicating a possible correlation with various risk factors and cancer. Preliminary work has defined some of the possible role of utility of such measurements in early diagnosis or therapy monitoring. The proposed work is directed at refining, extending and integrating the technology for the identification and routine measurement of relevant markers. The proposed approach is an iterative study between technology/methodology enchancements and marker significance identification from a cohort of ca. 400 cases spanning a wide range of sampling modalities, risk factors and diagnoses. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The proposed work is directed at developing research and clinical instrumentation for relating DNA damage to cercical cancer risk. The commercial markets are in biomedical research, therapy monitoring, and clinical screening.