New test may allow early cancer detection

CARDIFF, Wales, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Welsh medical scientists have developed a test that might allow the very early detection of cancer.

Cardiff University researchers developed the test while studying telomeres -- small structures at the end of human chromosomes that control cell division in the body. By gradually becoming shorter they can tell cells when it is time to stop dividing.

However when telomeres stop working properly, they can cause cells to mutate and start dividing uncontrollably, which can lead to tumor formation.

The Cardiff researchers determined the critical length at which telomeres stop working and also found some telomeres can be shortened or deleted at random, without any external cause.

The researchers also discovered how chromosomes can fuse together once they lose the protection of their telomeres. Chromosomal fusion causes the chromosomes to disintegrate, resulting in the development of cancerous growths.

The Cardiff researchers said their findings mean there is now a system that can detect chromosomal fusions from single DNA molecules, opening the possibility of an "early-warning" test for cancer.

The research appears in the journal Genes and Development.