Cancer remains to be one of the greatest spectres of modern medicine.
Among its many variants, colorectal cancer (CRC) stands as the second most common type of cancer found in Yogyakarta: reaching 1,593 cases diagnosed from early 2008 to late 2019, with advanced stages already present in most of them. The CRC incidence rate also increased 13.4% annually in three of the most-affected districts in Yogyakarta.
Despite the slow progression of CRC, taking approximately 10-15 years, the majority of CRC patients are diagnosed at advanced stages due to late screenings.
Existing Solutions & Their Flaws
Therefore, the solution to this is screening early. Nevertheless, conventional early screening methods have their own problems.
More advanced methods like liquid biopsy does allow greater accuracy and is less invasive, but come at its own costs of being expensive and inaccessible to rural populations.
Therefore, an alternative solution is highly needed to enable a safer, more effective, and more inclusive way of screening CRC.
Here comes our project idea!
Introducing:
ColDBlu
Our project, ColDBlu (Colorectal cancer screening bioDevice by aeBlue chromoprotein), involves using a strain of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 that can colonize the colon of people with colorectal cancer (CRC).
We have created a molecular biodevice that can detect specific CRC miRNA biomarkers in the colon. When the biodevice finds these markers, it produces aeBlue chromoproteins, which act as a clear signal in the feces that CRC is present.
Patients that have developed an early stage of CRC will find that their feces has now been coloured blue, in the comfort of their own bathroom.
Through our project implementation, we aim and expect a novel screening method that is accurate, non-invasive, and accessible for everyone and anyone.
iGEM UGM
Bulaksumur F11, Caturtunggal, Kecamatan Depok, Kabupaten Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281
igemugm@gmail.com
Get in Touch!
All content on this wiki is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (or any later version).
