BioCentury
ARTICLE | Preclinical News

Malaria protein helps detect circulating tumor cells

August 20, 2018 9:28 PM UTC

VarCT Diagnostics ApS is developing a cancer diagnostic that employs a malaria protein to target circulating tumor cells based on research from University of Copenhagen and colleagues.

The academic team previously showed that the recombinant variant surface antigen 2 chondroitin sulphate A (VAR2CSA) malaria protein selectively binds to oncofetal chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPG), found on over 95% of epithelial, mesenchymal and hematopoietic cancer cell lines and tissues and very few normal cells...