Studies show that early detection is vital to cancer survival, but diagnosing can be invasive and even dangerous in the earlier stages of disease progression.
On the heels of the new breathalyzer device for cancer detection, the new “lab-on-a-chip” is now the latest handy diagnostic tool being tested by cancer scientists. Developed by researchers at the University of Kansas, it may be able to quickly detect cancer with just a drop of blood or plasma.
A report published last week in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering says this “ultrasensitive” device reads exosomes produced by tumors, which encourage tumor metastization. Exosomes have become increasingly integral to biochemists as molecular messengers.
“Basically, tumors send out exosomes, packaging active molecules that [stimulate growth]. While all cells produce exosomes, tumor cells are really active compared to normal cells,” says lead researcher and associate professor of chemistry at KU Yong Zeng.
The chip has a “nanoporous” surface, which can parse biological particulate by separating it from its surrounding fluid. Zeng’s analogy demonstrates this process: Imagine there’s a kitchen sink filled with water and many floating pingpong balls. “How do you get all the balls in contact with the bottom of the sink where sensors could analyze them? Drain the water.”
The researchers successfully tested the chip’s technology using clinical samples from patients with ovarian cancer, which is considered among the most difficult cancers to diagnose in its early stages.
Zeng tells The Post, “With the ability to detect an extremely low level of markers, our technology [could] afford better detection of early ovarian tumor,” once a more specific, early biomarker for ovarian cancer is named — and that may not be far off either.
In collaboration with University of Kansas Cancer Center oncologist Andrew Godwin, Zeng says, “We identified a protein marker that, combined with the ultrasensitive technology, can detect ovarian patients with stage I and II versus stage III and IV.” Still, he adds, “this is not yet validated clinically, and there is a long way to go before it can be used in clinics.”
And while only tested for ovarian cancer thus far, researchers are confident the new technology could be applicable to many other diseases.
Perhaps the best part of the chip, though, is how “simple and low cost” it is to manufacture, requiring no “fancy nanofabrication equipment,” says Zeng. “It has great potential to translate into clinical settings.”