Futuretech – emerging technologies in cancer care

Detecting breast cancer before clinical signs

Researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK have developed a method of blood screening they believe could ultimately lead to the detection of breast cancer five years before clinical indicators appear. They found that the presence of tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) constitutes a reliable indicator of cancer. Likewise, the presence of an antigen’s auto-antibody is a good indicator that the antigen, and therefore a tumour, is present. The team developed blood panels against which blood can be screened using protein microarray for auto-antibodies linked to TAAs associated with breast cancer tumours. They were able to screen for 40 such antibodies overall, as well as 27 not associated with the disease, with each panel targeted to a subset of those.

The researchers from the Centre of Excellence for Autoimmunity in Cancer (CEAC) group at Nottingham’s School of Medicine took blood samples from 90 breast cancer patients shortly after diagnosis, and from a control group of 90 volunteers not afflicted with the disease. According to Daniyah Alfattani, one of the researchers, “The results of our study showed that breast cancer does induce auto-antibodies against panels of specific tumour-associated antigens. We were able to detect cancer with reasonable accuracy by identifying these auto-antibodies in the blood.”

The team focused on three panels: One with five TAAs, one with seven, and one with nine. The larger the panel, the more accurate the testing, as it turned out. With the panel of five TAAs, breast cancer was detected in 29% of the samples from cancer patients, while 84% of the control samples were positively identified as being without cancer. With seven TAAs, the cancer-detection rate rose to 35%, while the findings of no disease in the control group went down slightly to 79%. A nine-TAA panel was similar, correctly detecting cancer in 37% of cancer patients, and its absence verified it in 79% of the control group.

FISH test can predict HPV-related cancers 

OmniPathology has unveiled a new test that detects human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer in patients more accurately than by other means by using advanced fluorescence microscopy and computer-aided visual analysis.

A fluorescence in situ hybridisation test (the FISH test) is used to map genetic material in a person’s cells. In early results, more than 10% of people tested positive for the acquired genetic abnormalities – people who would have otherwise been left untreated without early detection. The FISH test works by detecting fluorescently labelled DNA probes bound to the TERC gene, a gene that speeds along virus replication and gives instructions for making one part of an enzyme called telomerase. From there, the FISH test is able to detect new genetic changes, such as expansion of that TERC gene, which can lead to cervical, anal, and oral squamous cell carcinoma in those living with HPV.

Researchers said the FISH test can be used for early detection of HPV-related malignant and premalignant conditions in all patients, including those at high risk for HPV, such as bisexual women, gay and bi men, transgender people, sex workers, and those living with HIV. The FISH test is performed much like a vaginal Pap smear, a swab obtained with a brush by a gynaecologist, physician, or other medical professional.

“Our new FISH screening test bridges a gap in HPV diagnosis by its ability to accurately detect the progression of HPV virus into cancer in any patient. We hope that more ob-gyns and other physicians will take advantage of this breakthrough test and screen more patients so we can prevent HPV-related cancers,” said Dr Mohammad Kamal, founder and CEO of OmniPathology.

Digital faecal occult blood test for bowel cancer

Oxford MEStar – an Oxford University bioengineering spinout company – has developed digital faecal occult blood testing devices to enable early bowel cancer identification.

Originally formed by scientists from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Oxford University, measure Bowel Health is the company’s first product in a series of digital handheld diagnostic tests. The measure bowel health test is sold as a self-testing device, designed to be used in the privacy of one’s own home. Oxford MEStar has also recently launched a new version of the product, measurePRO, aimed at the professional primary care market. 

The company’s in-vitro diagnostic device works on a patented electrochemical technology, which converts the presence of blood in stool into a measurable electrical signal, increasing the chances of catching bowel cancer early on, when the chances of a positive outcome are highest. The new technology allows the test to be performed in under a minute.

Acoustic cluster therapy aids chemo delivery 

The first patient has been treated with an innovative new technology that uses microscopic clusters of bubbles and liquid droplets to enhance the delivery of chemotherapy drugs to tumours. The clusters of microdroplets and microbubbles are injected along with the patient’s chemotherapy and the technology, called acoustic cluster therapy, uses a standard ultrasound scan to convert the clusters into an activated form within the tumour. Once activated, with further ultrasound the clusters help to ‘pump’ the drug into the tumour, greatly increasing the amount of drug which reaches the cancer cells.

This new treatment, which is now being trialled by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, promises to improve the effectiveness of the chemotherapy by better targeting it to the cancer site, and could potentially be explored with reduced doses of drug in order to reduce the severity of side-effects.