Urinary Cyr61 Biomarker for Non-Invasive Epithelial Cancer Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cancer diagnosis and prognosis methods lack effective, easily detectable biomarkers for epithelial cancers, particularly for breast cancer, which often require invasive procedures and are not widely used, and struggle to predict metastasis.
Innovation Solution
Monitoring Cyr61 protein levels in urine samples, as they are higher in patients with ovarian and breast cancers, allowing for early detection, prognosis, and assessment of therapeutic efficacy, with methods involving antibody-based binding moieties and immunoassays for measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If invasive procedures are used to detect cancer biomarkers, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cancer biomarker Cyr61 from tumor tissue and detects it in urine samples, which are easily obtainable through non-invasive collection. This extraction approach allows detection of the biomarker in accessible body fluids rather than requiring invasive tissue sampling, thereby maintaining measurement precision while dramatically improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses urine as an intermediary medium to detect the presence of Cyr61 biomarker that originates from tumor tissue. Instead of directly sampling tumor tissue (invasive), the biomarker is detected in urine (non-invasive intermediary), resolving the contradiction between accurate detection and patient comfort.
2Ease of operation
If widely used cancer biomarkers are employed, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to inability to predict metastasis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent shifts the detection parameter from commonly used biomarkers like PSA to Cyr61, which shows different expression patterns. Cyr61 is overexpressed in tumor tissue and detectable in urine, providing both ease of detection and improved reliability for predicting metastatic potential, as evidenced by its correlation with tumor aggressiveness and metastatic status in the patent data.
3Measurement precision
If multiple biomarkers are tested to improve diagnosis accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies Cyr61 as a universal biomarker that can detect multiple types of epithelial cancers including breast, ovarian, and other carcinomas through a single detection assay. This multi-functional biomarker approach maintains high measurement precision across different cancer types while avoiding the complexity of implementing multiple separate biomarker tests.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a quick, safe, and non-invasive method for diagnosing and monitoring epithelial cancers, indicating cancer presence and aggressiveness, facilitating timely treatment adjustments and predicting metastatic potential.
Implementation Method 1
monitoring levels of Cyr61 protein in urine can be used as a primary screen to facilitate the diagnosis of ovarian or breast cancer
Data Source
AI summary
Urinary Cyr61 protein levels are up regulated in patients that have cancers of epithelial origin, i.e. breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to methods for prognostic evaluation, and diagnosis of cancers of epithelial origin. Further, the amount of Cyr61 protein detected in a urine sample correlates with disease status such that Cyr61 levels can be used to predict the presence of, as well as the metastatic potential of cancer. Thus, measuring the level of Cyr61 in urine provides a quick, easy, and safe screen that can be used to both diagnose and prognose cancer in a patient.