Overview

The department of Cancer Genetics, Therapeutics & Ultrastructural Pathology provides a spectrum of diagnostic services based on two main disciplines: The first one is based on histopathology and involves the examination of biopsies with the use of a transmission electron microscope which is the only one available in Cyprus. This service provides additional diagnostic histopathological information that is essential for diagnosing a range of diseases including neuromuscular and kidney as well as a spectrum of rare diseases and syndromes (e.g., ciliary disorders) where ultrastructural pathology is essential for accurate diagnosis. The second discipline is based on the application of molecular genetics in cancer which covers the areas of diagnosing predisposition to familial cancer, in individuals who have multiple cases of cancer in the family (e.g., breast/ovarian and colorectal cancers) in addition to the area of pharmaco-genetics which detects the presence of mutated genes in certain types of cancers. These genes are targets for many upcoming therapies in oncology particularly in aggressive types of cancer (e.g., lung cancer and melanoma). 

Furthermore, the department directs the Institute’s core facility in Proteomics which contributes expertise and technical competence into various ongoing research and clinical projects in need to utilize analytical instruments including a Water’s SYNAPT G2-Si (a nanoUPLC MS/MS module) which can perform a complete mixture and molecular characterization and a Water’s Xevo TQD (composed of a UPLC module and a triple quadrupole MS core) which can be used for routinely quantification experiments of known analytes.  

Finally, the department directs the Institute’s Biobank core facility by providing service into various ongoing research and clinical projects in the context of collecting, processing, storing and archiving of biological samples from patients with various diseases. The Biobank facility meets all national and European standards and a major task, in the forthcoming years, is to expand its activities and overall capacity.