New process 'may identify cancer risks'

The cure for cancer has become the holy grail for healthcare professionals, with scientists all over the globe constantly searching for a solution.

Now, it seems that experts may be closer to reducing the number of people who die from the disease due to new software which has been developed at Johns Hopkins University.

Specialists at the facility have designed a computer program which sifts through thousands of test results and identifies which patients are more at risk of developing cancer.

This is achieved by analysing data from each individual and working out whether DNA mutations in each case elevate the person's risk of developing the deadly disease.

A description of the method and details of the test have now been published in the August 15th issue of the journal Cancer Research.

Rachel Karchin, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering who supervised the development of the computational sorting approach, said the method may help to further protect private health insurance holders.

One of the main aids of the equipment is that researchers no longer have to trawl through hundreds of medical records to identify cancer risks, she stated.

"It's very expensive and time-consuming to test a huge number of gene mutations, trying to find the few that have a solid link to cancer," the expert explained.

"Our new screening system should dramatically speed up efforts to identify genetic cancer risk factors and help find new targets for cancer-fighting medications."

Doctoral student Hannah Carter was also instrumental in the development of the machine and said that the process is similar to a game of Guess Who which analyses health insurance holders' chances of contracting cancer.

As the disease is the world's second biggest killer after heart disease, this new process may be able to put a severe dent in mortality statistics, the experts suggested.

By Stephen Tate

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