Kenneth W. Kinzler
Co-discovered APC, the gatekeeper gene of colorectal cancer, and co-led the first cancer genome sequences.
Partner of Vogelstein in identifying APC, mapping colorectal tumour suppressor pathways, and developing digital PCR and Safe-SeqS methods behind liquid biopsy.
| Title | Journal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Identification of FAP locus genes from chromosome 5q21 | Science | 1991 |
For stage II colon cancer, where most patients are cured by surgery alone, a blood test can identify the minority who benefit from chemotherapy and spare everyone else its side effects. It does not yet prove that treating ctDNA-positive patients improves survival compared with not treating them.
A blood test can find early, treatable cancers in people who feel well, including cancers for which no screening exists. It is not a replacement for mammography or colonoscopy but a possible addition. Larger randomised trials are needed to show benefit outweighs harm.
There are not thousands of cancer genes, and any one patient's tumour is driven by only a few of them. That makes targeted sequencing panels sensible, but because most drivers are lost tumour suppressors, drugs exist for only a minority, which is why the same group turned to early detection.