Cancer fingerprint’ can detect deadly tumours in a matter of hours; all you want to know

Human fingerprints are unique with intricate details and they contain a pattern formed by parallel ridges that is difficult to alter. Fingerprints are durable throughout life and are recognised as long-term markers of an identity. Now, would you believe that this can be used to help identify cancer?
A new study has been conducted by the researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona and it revealed that the different

types of cancer

have unique

molecular fingerprints

that help in detecting them at a very early stage. This discovery is creating a groundwork for noninvasive diagnostic tests that can detect the different types of cancer faster and earlier.

The study reviewed the association between the fingerprint patterns – called the

dermatoglyphics

and cancer types. The study focuses on six types of cancer including gynecological cancers, oral cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, leukemia, and pituitary tumors, and their connection with fingerprints.

Research professor Eva Novoa who led the research study noted that the subtle differences in human fingerprints could tell a lot about one’s health and disease. The study also found a new technology called nanopore direct RNA sequencing, which permits the direct analysis of rRNA molecules present in the fingerprints.

The research looked at lung cancer in detail and the study obtained normal and diseased tissues from 20 patients with stage I or stage II lung cancer and confirmed that the rRNA from cancer cells is hypomodified. The researchers also looked for all types of chemical modifications across humans and mice for many different tissues including the brain, heart, liver, and testis. They discovered that each tissue has a unique pattern of rRNA modification.