New ultrasound cancer diagnosis technique

A new ultrasound technology that could pick up far more cases of cancer and cut the need for biopsies has been developed by scientists. At present, ultrasounds can help identify potential problems with key organs but are not sensitive enough to detect cancer. Now a team at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh say they have made a major breakthrough and can produce images with five to 10 times the resolution of traditional methods. 

The new technique allows organs and blood flow to be scanned in super-resolution for the first time, with NHS trials on people starting at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital in December. The process works by injecting tiny bubbles into the bloodstream and scanning organs so that the blood flow can be shown with 0.05mm precision. The patient need only stay still for a few minutes while they are scanned – allowing images to be produced in reasonable time.

Computer technology is able to track these bubbles to produce images which have a greater resolution than anything in use at the moment. By looking at blood vessels and flow, experts are able to map the networks that are enabling cancerous tumours to grow. The new technique will not require hospitals to upgrade their current equipment.

‘eNose’ identifies immunotherapy responders

An electronic nose that detects chemicals in the breath of lung cancer patients can identify with 85% accuracy those who will or will not respond to immunotherapy, according to new research published recently in Annals of Oncology. The results of the first study to investigate this show that the eNose is more accurate than the current gold standard of immunohistochemistry (IHC) for selecting patients who will respond to anti-PD-1 immunotherapies, such as nivolumab or pembrolizumab. 

The eNose is a small device that contains sensors to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are present in about 1% of exhaled breath. Researchers at The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, examined the mix of VOCs in the breath of 143 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

They found that before the start of treatment with immunotherapy, the eNose analysis could distinguish between responders and non-responders with an accuracy of 85%, which means the eNose can potentially avoid application of ineffective treatment to patients identified as being non-responders to immunotherapy, which was 24% of the patients in this study. 

Colour-change urine test for cancer 

A simple and sensitive urine test developed by Imperial and MIT engineers in the US has produced a colour change in urine to signal growing tumours in mice. The early stage technology works by injecting nanosensors into mice, which are cut up by enzymes released by tumours known as proteases.

When the nanosensors are broken up by proteases, they pass through the kidney, and can be seen with the naked eye after a urine test that produces a blue colour change. 

Applying this technology, urine from mice with colon cancer turned bright blue.

Irish experts assist in €6m brain cancer project

Technology leaders in Ireland are helping to tackle one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer using miniature, implantable devices. The telecoms experts at Waterford Institute of Technology’s Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group (TSSG) have partnered with universities worldwide on the potentially life-changing GLADIATOR project. Together, they are developing miniature devices that interface with engineered cells, bio-nanomachines, to detect and treat cancer from inside the brain. 

Engineering cells into bio-nanomachines involves the use of synthetic biology to design specific functions in living cells and the secretion of molecules that can be used to detect and treat the tumour. The devices, when implanted in the brain, will be controlled from an external wireless device that will collect information, which should enable a solution for treating Glioblastoma Multiforme. The project team will also examine the circuitry design, the power and communication requirements etc of these tiny implantable devices and how to interface to the bio-nanomachines that will interact with cancer.

New ultrasound cancer diagnosis technique

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the US have developed a computer algorithm to predict the outcome of a cancer patient during treatment. Inspired by a sports playbook, the new technology is designed to analyse a range of predictive data, including a tumour’s response to therapy and the blood levels of cancer DNA during treatment. Named ‘Continuous Individualized Risk Index’ (CIRI), the tool is intended to offer a single, dynamic risk assessment at any point during a treatment course. The algorithm has also demonstrated the ability to aid in identifying patients who may benefit from early, more aggressive therapies, as well as those who may be potentially cured by standard methods.

Can a plaster detect skin cancer?

Researchers at Malmö University in Sweden are working to develop a cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostics tool for skin cancer in the form of a plaster. Researchers hope the diagnostics plaster would be less expensive and invasive as biopsies and provide immediate results. 

“We imagine a plaster, or an equivalent, which is placed on the area of skin suspected to be developing cancer in order to collect molecules for analysis,” said Prof Tautgirdas Ruzgas, one of the research team. They are in the process of identifying molecules that can only be analysed on sick/injured skin, not healthy – they project is due to be completed in 2021.