The research team works on the project. [Photo/Zhejiang Cancer Hospital]

A major cancer research breakthrough from Hangzhou has been published inScience, marking a global first in precision oncology.

A team led by Tan Weihong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and head of both CAS Hangzhou Institute of Medicine and Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, has developed SPARK-seq — the world's first integrated platform capable of simultaneously identifying cell-surface cancer markers and generating their corresponding nucleic-acid targeting probes at single-cell resolution.

Designed to advance precision medicine, SPARK-seq addresses a core challenge in cancer treatment: identifying the right molecular targets and the precise tools to recognize them — simultaneously. Previous methods required multiple, time-consuming steps. With SPARK-seq, screening efficiency improves by more than 100-fold, while accuracy is significantly enhanced.

The platform has already demonstrated strong potential against two of the most challenging cancers — pancreatic cancer and triple-negative breast cancer — by enabling ultra-sensitive detection of disease-related markers and offering new paths for targeted diagnostics and drug development.

The study marks the first time Zhejiang Cancer Hospital has been the lead institution on a paper published inScience, representing a major milestone in Hangzhou's emergence as a center of global biomedical innovation.

Researchers say SPARK-seq could pave the way for a future map-based precision treatment model, in which therapies are rapidly tailored to individual patients, bringing cancer care closer to the goal of treating disease with minimal side effects.

An infographic explains how the platform works. [Photo/Zhejiang Cancer Hospital]