Scientists have developed a simple test that detects cancer in its early stages: it works like a pregnancy test

You may only need a simple urine sample to diagnose cancer soon. Researchers in South Korea are developing a new rapid test that analyzes metabolites in the urine and detects the presence of certain types of cancer in the body. Their success paves the way for a simple strip-sensor that alerts patients long before the onset of life-threatening symptoms in advanced cancers. Writes about it Study Finds.

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Right now, the team says this test can detect prostate and pancreatic cancer with near-perfect accuracy. The test works by irradiating light after placing a small volume (10 µl) of urine drops on the test surface.

The authors of the study focused on differences in the metabolic components present in the urine of cancer patients and healthy individuals. When cancer cells begin to multiply in the human body, they release various metabolites into the urine because the disease alters the patient's metabolism.

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Researchers have developed a surface-enhanced Raman sensor that amplifies the signatures of these metabolites by more than a billion times. They did this by forming a coral-shaped plasmonic nanomaterial on porous paper. When scientists put a patient's urine into the sensor and irradiate it with light, signals from the cancer metabolite literally "light up" on the surface of the sensor. Using artificial intelligence to analyze their results, the team was able to distinguish up to 99 percent of prostate and pancreatic cancer patients from healthy samples.

Current cancer tests may detect the disease too late

The authors of the study note that modern methods of diagnosing cancer usually use blood tests and X-ray scans to detect tumors. Many high-risk people monitor their cancer risk through annual health checks. However, all these methods can lead to the detection of the disease at a later stage, which will delay treatment and increase the risk of death of the patient.

This new test uses a biological sample (urine) that is easy to obtain and can quickly detect cancer at the site of testing, similar to a pregnancy test. The team assures that such strip tests will be much more affordable than other diagnostic methods.

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“In the case of cancers where the diagnostic method is unknown, such as pancreatic cancer, it is difficult to detect and the survival rate after initial diagnosis is low. In Korea, 14 patients with pancreatic cancer are known to die every day, and the economic cost per person is about 63 million won ($49) per year, said senior researcher Heo Sang Jung of the nanomaterials department of the Korea Institute of Materials Science. “Since early diagnosis is most important for incurable diseases such as cancer, we expect this technology to provide a new diagnostic method.”

Researchers are currently working to make this test sensitive enough to detect other forms of the disease, including colorectal and lung cancers.

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