Although this is one of the most exciting areas of cancer research, identifying tumors with blood tests remains challenging, especially in early detection.
Despite the thriving field of breakthrough blood test research and development of multiple cancer early detection (MCED) tests for many types of cancer and specific causes such as lung and breast cancer, In general, screening still requires an invasive cell biopsy.
Researchers at the University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney, Australia, want to change that with the development of a new biotechnology, the Static Droplet Microfluidic (SDM) device. Rapidly detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that divide from the cancer source and enter the bloodstream. This paves the way for very early detection, monitoring and treatment.
“There can be one tumor cell among billions of blood cells in just one milliliter of blood, making it very difficult to spot. The new detection technology has 38,400 chambers, Isolate and classify the number of metabolically active tumor cells.”
SDM can select tumor cells through a unique metabolic signature involving the waste product lactate.
“In the 1920s, Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cells consume so much glucose that they produce more lactic acid,” Warkiani said. “Our device monitors single cells for increased lactate using pH-sensitive fluorescent dyes that detect pericellular acidification.”
Once SDM has alerted a problem cell, the cell can undergo further genetic and molecular analysis to identify the cause and inform treatments.
CTCs are a precursor to metastasis, where cancer moves to other organs, and are responsible for 90% of the approximately 600,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The device’s ability to detect very few of her CTCs could lead to life-saving intervention.
And because the device is designed to be operated by medical staff, it can be easily and inexpensively integrated into the clinic, making it a less invasive, far less invasive and risky experience for patients.
“Management of cancer by evaluating tumor cells in a blood sample is much less invasive than taking a tissue biopsy, which allows doctors to do repeated tests and monitor a patient’s response to treatment. You can,” Warkiani said.
The development team is so confident in the SDM that they have applied for a provisional patent and are planning a commercial release of the device.
The study was published in a journal Biosensors and bioelectronics.
Source: University of Technology, Sydney
