OncoMethylome Sciences has been granted an exclusive license to intellectual property developed by the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry involving the silencing of several tumour-suppressor genes by DNA methylation in prostate cancer, OncoMethylome Sciences and the Max Planck Society jointly announced.

DNA methylation is one of the most common molecular alterations linked to the initiation and progression of cancers. This epigenetic alteration results in gene inactivation, or more accurately, silencing of gene expression. Scientists have known for a long time that silencing of genes, critical for inhibition of tumour growth, can lead to cancer development. Studies conducted at the Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry by Dr. Heiko Hermeking and Dmitri Lodyguine have identified several key tumour-suppressive genes that are methylated in prostate cancer tissue but not in normal prostate tissue or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

The genes will be evaluated, along with OMS's GST-Pi gene, to identify the optimum panel of methylated genes for early prostate cancer detection, prognosis and monitoring of recurrence. In numerous published studies, methylation of the GST-Pi gene has been shown to have a high correlation with the presence of cancerous cells in prostate biopsy tissue.

Dr. Herman Spolders, CEO of OncoMethylome Sciences, commented, "The addition of the genes from the Max Planck Institute to our MSP technology platform and our portfolio of functionally important methylated gene markers in cancer gives us more tools to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of our prostate cancer assays for use in biopsy tissue and urine."