Endometrial cancer is a type of cancer that affects the inner lining of the uterus. The number of new endometrial cancer cases per year is rising worldwide, with 2,000 annual cases in the Netherlands.
A common symptom of endometrial cancer is postmenopausal blood loss. Luckily, this bleeding symptom is related to endometrial cancer in only 5-10% of women. Endometrial cancer is currently diagnosed by the collection and analysis of endometrial tissue. Therefore, most women with postmenopausal blood loss undergo a painful biopsy procedure to rule out cancer.
“In this study, we tested whether endometrial cancer can be detected using patient-friendly methods,” says Birgit Wever, PhD student in the Pathology Department and co-first author. “We did this by testing for DNA methylation markers in patient-friendly material, including urine and vaginal swabs collected at home, and compared those to cervical scrapes collected by a clinician.”
DNA methylation is a process that involves adding a chemical group - called a methyl group (-CH3) - to one of the four building blocks that make up DNA. This molecular "tagging” can modify the function of the DNA molecule, affecting how genes are expressed, and regulating important cellular processes. In many cancers, including endometrial cancer, aberrant DNA methylation patterns are common.
“We showed that endometrial cancer can be detected in all at-home self-collected samples using DNA methylation marker testing,” says Rianne van den Helder, co-first author and resident Obstetrics and Gynecology at Amsterdam UMC. “Moreover, the correct detection rate in home-based samples was excellent (>89%), comparable to the diagnostic performance of cervical scrapes taken in the clinic.”
biopsy and those who do not.
For more information, contact Birgit Wever, check out a summary on MedScape, or read the paper:
Wever, BMM, van den Helder, R, van Splunter, AP, et al. DNA methylation testing for endometrial cancer detection in urine, cervicovaginal self-samples and cervical scrapes. Int J Cancer. 2023; 1- 11. doi:10.1002/ijc.34504
People involved at Amsterdam UMC
Birgit M.M. Wever 1
Rianne van den Helder 1
Annina P. van Splunter
Mignon D.J.M. van Gent
Jenneke C. Kasius
Lisanne Verhoef
Daniëlle A.M. Heideman
Birgit I. Lissenberg-Witte
Renske D.M. Steenbergen 1
Maaike C.G. Bleeker 1
1 Birgit and Rianne contributed equally as first authors, Renske and Maaike contributed equally as senior authors.
Funding: Hanarth Foundation and Stichting De Weijerhorst.
This article was created for Cancer Center Amsterdam.
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