A test based on nanosensors still to be experienced in clinical studies identifies people with pancreas cancer with an accuracy of 73%.
A blood test capable of finding pancreas cancer before it spreads to other organs could revolutionize therapy against this type of cancer, which often It does not cause recognizable symptoms And it is identified when it has now formed metastases. To describe the simple and economic technology, in an article published on Science Translational Medicineis a working group led by Jared Fischer, molecular biologist of the Oregon Health & Science University of Portland.
On the trail of cancer. The activity of a type of protease (enzymes specialized in breaking the bonds that keep the protein molecules together). In particular, and as explained on Naturethe team focused on recognizing, in the blood, the presence of a protease called Metalloproteinase of the matrixwhich deals with demolishing collagen and extracellular matrix (the space between one cell and another) and which is used by tumors, including Ductal Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), among the most difficult to cure, to make its way into the human body.
Discovered cancer. The working group has developed nanosensors capable of finding this protease in the blood. Technology consists of one magnetic nanoparticle attached to a fragment of protein that attracts the matrix metalloproteinase, and combined with a fluorescent molecule. Millions of these nanosensors are inserted in a blood sample: if the metalloproteinases are present and active, “eat” the bait – the fragment of molecule – and trigger the release of the fluorescent molecule. Then eliminating the unused nanosensors through a magnet, the remaining fluorescent molecules are counted. The samples with the most active proteases are those that … they emit more light.
A good sensitivity. The researchers tested the sensors on 356 frozen blood samples of patients partly affected by pancreas cancer, partly with non -tumor and partly healthy pancreas diseases. The technology identified healthy in 98% of cases e Found people with pancreas cancer with an accuracy of 73%: a sensitivity that will be improved, before clinical tests, but which has still surprised scientists, since proteases are important for different biological functions and are not exploited only by tumors.
Future, we are waiting for you. The very low cost (0.01 dollars for each test) would allow to exploit it also in contexts with few resources, With the future goal of carrying out screening campaigns to identify the pancreas cancer before it has spread.
It will not be an immediate step: so far the blood tests that promise to go hunting for asymptomatic tumors, such as the so -called liquid biopsy, a blood test that allows you to discover the DNA issued by the cancer cells in the blood, they were mainly used to monitor the evolution of tumors and set the most effective therapies. Blood tests for the early diagnosis of cancer, such as the one in which this last study deals with, they are still in the experimentation phase and are not part of the clinical routine.
