We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Genetic Discoveries Expand Line of Blood Plasma Diagnostics

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 10 Dec 2009
Print article
Novel mutations, discoveries, and tests could lead to the expansion of blood-plasma tests for leukemia and lymphoma. Genetic variations can indicate a patient's risk of developing a potentially life-threatening blood disorder if exposed to certain pharmaceutical therapies or chemicals.

Leumeta tests identify genetic markers that can help physicians detect disease, predict therapy response, and monitor disease progression using plasma rather than cells, replacing, in some cases, the need for painful bone-marrow biopsies.

In addition, scientists have used a diagnostic technique for identifying whether a patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) will also experience HIT when treated with a synthetic form of heparin, fondaparinux sodium (Arixtra). HIT is an immune reaction experienced by some patients after exposure to the blood thinning drug heparin that can promote the formation of potentially life threatening blood clots.

Quest Diagnostics (Madison, NJ, USA) the company responsible for these discoveries, also found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a variation in a DNA sequence, of the erythropoietin (EPO) gene is associated with the development of the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a life-threatening illness for some patients.

Although additional investigation is required, Quest scientists explained the potential clinical value of detecting a specific EPO gene polymorphism in high-risk individuals. For example, patients with this specific polymorphism could store stem cells prior to beginning chemotherapy, so that if they develop MDS, they could undergo a bone marrow transplant using their own healthy cells at a later time.

These and more discoveries were revealed by Quest Diagnostics, the company which produces the Leumeta tests, during the 51st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held on December 5-8, 2009, in New Orleans (LA; USA).

"As a leader in diagnostics in hematologic cancers and other blood disorders, our goal is to bridge the divide between scientific discovery and clinical need with novel, quality diagnostics," said Jon R. Cohen, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president, Quest Diagnostics. "Our scientists' research presented at ASH 2009 expands the growing body of knowledge of the genetic and biological factors implicated in blood diseases. It also promotes our development of new diagnostics, including in our Leumeta family, for aiding clinical care of patients."

Related Links:

Quest Diagnostics



Gold Member
Chagas Disease Test
CHAGAS Cassette
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Vaginitis Test
Allplex Vaginitis Screening Assay
New
HIV Test
Anti-HIV (1/2) Rapid Test Kit

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.