Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41731523›Full record

ArticleCancer cell international2026

Dual-biomarkers encoding tumor-activatable minicircles with scaffold/matrix attachment region motif for sensitive and sustained blood and urine-based cancer detection.

Hui-Yen Chuang, Wei-Chan Lin, Yu-Chieh Jill Kao, Chen-Hsuan Chiang, Carmel T Chan, Aloma L D'Souza, Sanjiv S Gambhir, Sharon S Hori

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Article in Cancer cell international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

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8 authors.

Hui-Yen Chuang *Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong St, Taipei, Beitou, 112, Taipei, Taiwan. huiyen@nycu.edu.tw.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4016-6753
Wei-Chan Lin *Department of Radiology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei City, 106, Taiwan.
Yu-Chieh Jill KaoDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong St, Taipei, Beitou, 112, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chen-Hsuan ChiangDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong St, Taipei, Beitou, 112, Taipei, Taiwan.
Carmel T ChanMolecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Aloma L D'SouzaMolecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Sanjiv S GambhirMolecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Sharon S HoriMolecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. shori@stanford.edu.

Funding

Cathay General Hospital CGH-MR-A11223National Science and Technology Council 112-2314-B-A49-066 -
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLiquid biopsy has been used for decades to detect cancer; however, endogenous biomarkers have limitations that can lead to misdiagnosis and hinder early detection. We previously developed tumor-activatable nonviral minicircles driven by a tumor-specific survivin promoter (pSURV), which successfully identified tumor-bearing mice. Nevertheless, minicircles are a type of episomal vector and are often lost in fast-dividing cancer cells. Our goal was to develop a new version of these tumor-activatable minicircles to spot early-stage cancer with enhanced and prolonged signals.

methodsWe constructed pSURV-driven hCG and Gluc nonviral minicircles, with and without M18 scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) motif. These were tested in multiple cancer cell lines in culture and then administered intravenously into healthy, subcutaneous, and orthotopic tumor-bearing mice. We measured hCG and Gluc levels in blood and urine and used Gluc signals to localize tumors.

resultsWe found that hCG and Gluc are ideal synthetic biomarkers due to minimal background signals and wide detection ranges. Moreover, minicircles containing the M18 S/MAR motif produced enhanced and prolonged signals in both cell culture and tumor-bearing mice.

conclusionsOur study demonstrates that tumor-activatable minicircles encoding hCG and Gluc are ideal for cancer liquid biopsy. The M18 S/MAR motif significantly elevates synthetic biomarker expressions and maintains signals for a longer duration in vivo. This new version of tumor-activatable minicircles allows for the detection of smaller tumors with a wider time window for sampling and subsequent assays.

Indexed as

Cancer detectionLiquid biopsyMinicircleScaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR)Synthetic biomarkers

Identifiers

PMID41731523
PMCPMC13032451

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.