The new assay uses the biological specificity of ‘DNA methylation’ in prostate cancer, detecting the methylation of the gene GST-Pi. Methylation is a modification of DNA that occurs primarily in cancer. Veridex is developing the methylation markers in this tissue assay, GST-Pi, along with other markers, for a urine-based screening test for prostate cancer.
LabCorp licensed the methylation technology from Veridex in 2007. Veridex licensed this technology from OncoMethylome Sciences.