A winning combination with nanobubbles

A new technology has made it possible to destroy cancerous tumours in a targeted manner, via a combination of ultrasound and the injection of nanobubbles into the bloodstream. According to the research team at Tel Aviv University in Israel, unlike invasive treatment methods or the injection of microbubbles into the tumour itself, this latest technology enables the destruction of the tumour in a non-invasive manner. The new technology makes it possible, in a relatively simple way, to inject nanobubbles into the bloodstream, which then congregate in the area of the cancerous tumour. After that, using a low-frequency ultrasound, the researchers were able to ‘explode’ the nanobubbles, and thereby the tumour. The treatment was performed using safe, low-pressure levels and focused only on the area of tumour, which reduces off-target toxicity and avoids damage to healthy tissues. The study, which was published in the journal Nanoscale, was carried out using an animal model. 

At-home breast cancer check app 

An ingenious tool that can detect suspicious lumps in breast tissue was amongst the 29 winning projects for a prestigious international engineering competition. In the UK, the James Dyson Award 2022 went to DotPlot, which developed an at-home breast health monitoring tool that offers guided self-checks. To use DotPlot, users are taken through one-time onboarding on the app which includes entering the details of their period cycle – if they have one – to offer the correct date for their self-check. They then build a personalised map of their torso by providing their bra size, breast shape and sliding the handheld device to rescale the baseline model. Once set up, the app guides women through the self-check by showing which areas they need to scan. The position of the device on the torso is determined by DotPlot’s pre-trained system which analyses the orientation of the device relative to the ground. A sound signal of a known frequency is emitted to record the tissue composition at the site. The point that the user needs to check flashes on the app until a reading has been taken. Each month’s reading is compared to the previously recorded readings to highlight any abnormalities developing in the tissue. Users can choose to send reports directly to their GP.

AI trained to spot colorectal cancer

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool, developed by scientists at University College London (UCL), UCL Hospital (UCLH) and UCL-spinout Odin Vision, has been further refined to identify hard to spot ‘flat’ polyps, that – when left untreated – can become highly aggressive and are a major cause of colorectal cancer. The research team trained the AI in Odin Vision’s CADDIE system on these flat polyps. CADDIE uses AI during an endoscopy to detect and characterise adenomatous polyps (AP) in real-time. APs are more common and have distinctive tubular features. In comparison flat polyps, including flat lesions and sessile serrated lesions (SSLs), known as ‘subtle advanced neoplasia’, have far fewer distinctive features and are notoriously difficult to detect. They are also more likely to develop into an aggressive cancer, meaning it will spread or grow quickly. In a study, the upgraded the CADDIE AI algorithm detected a significantly higher percentage of the flat polyps when compared to expert and trainee colonoscopists, at 79.5% versus 37% and 11.5% respectively. The AI also detected flat polyps at a faster rate and across the other datasets the algorithm detected nearly 100% of polyps. The CADDIE system, now upgraded, is being used in several NHS hospitals, including UCLH, along with many private hospitals.

Patients matched to clinical trials

As more patients with cancer have their tumours genomically profiled, and more therapies targeting genomic alterations enter clinical trials, the task of connecting patients to trials for which they are eligible can be especially challenging. However, a computer platform developed at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute can make the matching process both easier and faster, its designers reported in a new study. Called ‘MatchMiner’, the platform helps clinicians and clinical researchers find potential matches between patients and targeted therapy trials based on genetic alterations in patients’ tumours. During a five-year period at Dana-Farber, it helped bring about roughly one in every five consents to join precision medicine trials among patients with genomic data in MatchMiner. It also sped the process of enrolling patients in such trials by more than 20%, the authors of the study, published in Precision Oncology, found. MatchMiner can be used by the clinician to look up trial options for an individual patient or by a trial team to identify potential trial participants by setting up a genomic filter that screens candidates for specific genomic criteria.

Tiny microscope spots cancer cells forming

A tiny microscope that can be manoeuvred through small spaces inside the body during surgery could speed up breast cancer treatment and help cut hospital waiting lists, according to the scientists who created it. Experts from Imperial College London (ICL) have developed an endo-microscope that is less than 1mm in diameter and is designed to be inserted into the body to provide views of tissue and organs. The device is able to produce images from inside the tissue with “unprecedented speed” (up to 120 frames per second), the team said. The hope is that the endo-microscope will help surgeons identify cancerous cells a hundredth of a millimetre in size at a much faster rate than traditional methods. It will help reduce the need for follow-up operations to remove cancerous cells that previously evaded detection. The instrument will also help with breast-conserving surgery