Jop Kind, group leader at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research (KNAW) and Oncode Investigator, receives €250.000 from the KNAW research fund. He will use the funding to develop a new technology for the early detection of cancer. In collaboration with the Medema group (Amsterdam UMC), the researchers will evaluate how well the newly developed method can discriminate between various subtypes of colon cancer based on a blood sample. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a simple method for early detection of a range of cancer types using merely a few drops of blood.

Current cancer diagnostics
Blood can contain cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which originates from dying cells, for example of tumors. cfDNA therefore holds rich information on a person’s physiological state. Cancer diagnostics based on cfDNA in liquid biopsies hold great promise in guiding treatment and screening for recurrent disease. However, current diagnostic strategies are costly and labor intensive, and generally fall short in detecting cancer in its early stages.

New technology
The Kind group will use the grant from the KNAW research fund to develop a new technology for the early detection of cancer based on a blood sample. This technology will use the PTMs retained on nucleosomes to determine the cell-of-origin of cfDNA.

In collaboration with the Medema group (Amsterdam UMC), the researchers will study how well the technology discriminates between different subtypes of colon cancer.

The ultimate aim of the project is to establish an easy method for the early detection of a range of cancer types using merely a few drops of blood, thereby drastically improving early cancer diagnostics.

For more information, contact Jan Paul Medema