Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Cancer is the most common cause of death in the world, and it incidence has been increasing for many years in economically developed countries. Early detection of cancers greatly increases the chances for successful treatment. So finding cancers before they start to cause symptoms is a most effective treatment. Recent studies have proposed that blood plasma contains a rich source of disease biomarkers for detecting, diagnosing and monitoring diseases. While some researchers have dismissed the low molecular weight serum peptidome as biological trash, recent work using differential scanning calorimetry has indicated that the peptidome may reflect biological event and contain diagnostic biomarkers.

Methods: Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a highly sensitive tool for analysis of blood plasma and other biofluids has recently been reported. Louisville Bioscience, Inc. (LBIdx™), The Plasma Thermogram™ (pT™) company has made a significant breakthrough in the analysis of blood plasma using differential scanning calorimetry for clinical monitoring and diagnostic applications.

Results: DSC analysis of plasma from diseased individuals revealed significant changes in the thermogram which are suggested to result not from changes in the concentration of the major plasma proteins but from interactions of small molecules or peptides with these proteins. The difference in plasma thermograms between healthy and disease individuals caused this method was recognized as a novel technique for disease diagnosis and monitoring.

Conclusion: Measurement of plasma proteins is a powerful clinical is standard medical practice which hope revolutionizes strategies for early cancer detection.