People’s Daily Health Client Liu Xiaoxu
“The current product only takes 30 minutes, and the liver cancer patient can know whether there are residual tumor cells in the body after the operation, whether there is the possibility of further metastasis of the liver cancer, and the doctor can also accurately If the next treatment plan is given, the patient can suffer less.” Professor Cao Deliang of South China University told the People’s Daily Health Client that the new primary liver cancer diagnostic kit developed by his team will be easier than the existing liver cancer diagnostic products. Identifying asymptomatic patients with early-stage primary liver cancer.
On February 23, the University of South China announced that the team of Prof. Deliang Cao of the university successfully developed a new diagnostic kit for primary liver cancer “Aldehyde and Ketone Reductase 1B10 Assay Kit (Time-Resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay method)”, and obtained the approval for the registration of three types of diagnostic reagents from the State Drug Administration.
Professor Cao Deliang is doing an experiment. Photo courtesy of the respondent
“This is my country’s first liver cancer diagnostic kit with completely independent intellectual property rights, and it is also the world’s first liver cancer diagnostic product based on aldehyde-ketone reductase 1B10 (AKR1B10),” said Cao Deliang.
“There are two screening methods for primary liver cancer, one is imaging examination; the other is alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which can usually be detected during physical examination. However, The early detection rate of primary liver cancer in my country is indeed not high, only about 15%. The number of people in Japan and South Korea is small, and the medical resources are relatively sufficient, so it is relatively easy to promote early screening; Imaging tests are also not easy, which makes early detection of cancer more difficult.”
“Compared with AFP, which is also a serum marker, the main advantages of AKR1B10 protein are reflected in three aspects: first, it is more sensitive and easier to identify asymptomatic early-stage liver cancer patients; second, it is more specific , the missed diagnosis rate and misdiagnosis rate are lower, the current test results show that the detection rate can reach 72%; third, the time to reflect the change of the condition is 6-7 times faster than AFP, and the postoperative AKR1B10 test for liver cancer patients can know the surgery earlier It can provide a scientific basis for doctors to formulate reasonable postoperative treatment plans.”
“The biggest feature of primary liver cancer is that there are basically no symptoms in the early stage, so 85% of people are already in the middle or late stage at the time of diagnosis, and nearly 75% of patients have already been diagnosed. There is no chance of surgery, therefore, the five-year survival rate of primary liver cancer in my country is only 12.1%, and the ratio of morbidity and mortality is as high as 1:0.9.” Cao Deliang said that the incidence of liver cancer in neighboring countries such as Japan and South Korea is also very high. High, but the survival rate can be achieved about 30%, precisely because of the early diagnosis and early treatment of liver cancer.
In 1995, Cao Deliang, who was still studying for a Ph.D. at the University of Hong Kong, discovered a new gene and its encoded protein in his research, and he realized that this might be a new field of research.
Since then, he has focused on this field, taking the lead in cloning and identifying the gene as Aldo-keto reductase 1B10 (AKR1B10), and regulating its biological function and expression , in the role and mechanism of tumor in-depth and systematic research, ranking the international leading position. In 2010, it was discovered that AKR1B10 can be used as a marker of liver cancer, which may have the potential to be applied in the screening, diagnosis and condition monitoring of liver cancer. The following year, a project was established to develop related products and clinical research.
In 2019, the research results of Cao Deliang’s team on AKR1B10 protein as a serum marker of primary liver cancer were published in the classic and authoritative journal “Hepatology” in the field of international hepatology
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After more than 10 years of unremitting efforts, Cao Deliang led the team to successfully develop a new type of primary liver cancer diagnostic kit “Aldehyde and Ketone Reductase 1B10 Assay Kit (Time-Resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay)”. At present, the diagnostic reagents have obtained the registration approval of three types of diagnostic reagents from the State Drug Administration, which is the highest classification of foreign diagnostic reagents in China, and the requirements are also the most stringent. Obtaining the registration approval means that it can be directly used in clinical practice.
According to the approval of the State Drug Administration, the “Aldehyde and Ketone Reductase 1B10 Assay Kit (Time-Resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay)” is suitable for the quantitative detection of AKR1B10 in human serum in vitro. Clinically, it is mainly used for dynamic monitoring of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma who are diagnosed and positive for AKR1B10 before surgery to assist in judging the disease process or the effect of surgical treatment.
“It is expected that the diagnostic reagent will be put into mass production in April this year, which will benefit more liver cancer patients.” Cao Deliang said, “This is a diagnostic product with great clinical prospects, and we will continue to expand it. Clinical research, accumulating more data on AKR1B10 for liver cancer screening, early diagnosis, disease assessment, monitoring of recurrence, etc., and continuously optimizing and upgrading kits. Liver cancer patients benefit.” Cao Deliang said.