It is therefore possible to detect bowel polyps as well as bowel tumours with high sensitivity using the biomarker 'M2-PK' in faecal samples, without the need to detect blood in the stool. The result is not affected by diet or specific foods, so a special diet is not required. There are no false positive results from haemorrhoids or other sources of bleeding into the bowel. The test can detect non-bleeding as well as bleeding bowel polyps or tumours. These scientific findings represent a change in direction in the early detection and screening for polyps and cancer of the bowel.

M2-PK in blood as a biomarker for therapy response and patient follow-up in various cancers

Studies from research groups around the world have shown that the concentration of M2-PK is significantly increased in the blood of patients with renal, lung, breast,cervical and gastrointestinal (colon, rectal, gastric [stomach], pancreatic, oesophageal) tumours, as well as melanoma, and correlates with the severity of the disease.

The monitoring of patients receiving therapy is an important application for the detection of M2-PK in EDTA-plasma, which assists with the early recognition of the success or failure of a therapy and in predicting the chances of recovery.

Newly developed compounds which target 'M2-PK' successfully block cancer metabolism

ScheBo Biotech AG is not only a pharmaceutical biotech company which is active in the development of in-vitro diagnostics, but has also already developed extremely promising candidate compounds targeted against 'M2-PK' which sequentially block cancer metabolism. Significant successes in blocking cancer cells have already been achieved in preclinical studies with these innovative compounds. The company is extremely confident that a fundamental breakthrough has been achieved with this new approach, according to board members Dr. Ursula Scheefers-Borchel and Dr. Hans Scheefers.

SOURCE ScheBo Biotech AG