[Hopespringpcsg] FW: FYI From eurekalert.org Topic: Studies find $1 test using gold nanoparticles outperforms PSA screen for prostate cancer

[Glen Tolhurst]

Hi all:

Interesting article.

Great advancement.

Let's hope BIG PHARMA doesn't get hold of this and price it outrageously.

Take care,

Glen

 


Subject: FYI From eurekalert.org Topic: Studies find $1 test using gold
nanoparticles outperforms PSA screen for prostate cancer

 


Studies find $1 test using gold nanoparticles outperforms PSA screen for
prostate cancer 


Cancer biomarkers cling to gold nanoparticles, providing more accurate
early-stage detection

University of Central Florida

 

A test that costs less than a $1 and yields results in minutes has been
shown in newly published studies to be more sensitive and more exact than
the current standard test for early-stage prostate cancer.

The simple test developed by University of Central Florida scientist Qun
"Treen" Huo holds the promise of earlier detection of one of the deadliest
cancers among men. It would also reduce the number of unnecessary and
invasive biopsies stemming from the less precise PSA test that's now used.

"It's fantastic," said Dr. Inoel Rivera, a urologic oncologist at Florida
Hospital Cancer Institute, which collaborated with Huo on the recent pilot
studies. "It's a simple test. It's much better than the test we have right
now, which is the PSA, and it's cost-effective."

When a cancerous tumor begins to develop, the body mobilizes to produce
antibodies. Huo's test detects that immune response using gold nanoparticles
about 10,000 times smaller than a freckle.

When a few drops of blood serum from a finger prick are mixed with the gold
nanoparticles, certain cancer biomarkers cling to the surface of the tiny
particles, increasing their size and causing them to clump together.

Among researchers, gold nanoparticles are known for their extraordinary
efficiency at absorbing and scattering light. Huo and her team at UCF's
NanoScience Technology Center developed a technique known as
nanoparticle-enabled dynamic light scattering assay (NanoDLSay) to measure
the size of the particles by analyzing the light they throw off. That size
reveals whether a patient has prostate cancer and how advanced it may be.

And although it uses gold, the test is cheap. A small bottle of
nanoparticles suspended in water costs about $250, and contains enough for
about 2,500 tests.

"What's different and unique about our technique is it's a very simple
process, and the material required for the test is less than $1," Huo said.
"And because it's low-cost, we're hoping most people can have this test in
their doctor's office. If we can catch this cancer in its early stages, the
impact is going to be big."

After lung cancer, prostate cancer is the second-leading killer cancer among
men, with more than 240,000 new diagnoses and 28,000 deaths every year. The
most commonly used screening tool is the PSA, but it produces so many
false-positive results - leading to painful biopsies and extreme treatments
- that one of its discoverers recently called it "hardly more effective than
a coin toss."

Pilot studies found Huo's technique is significantly more exact. The test
determines with 90 to 95 percent confidence that the result is not
false-positive. When it comes to false-negatives, there is 50 percent
confidence - not ideal, but still significantly higher than the PSA's 20
percent - and Huo is working to improve that number.

The results of the pilot studies were published earlier this month in ACS
Applied Materials & Interfaces. Huo is also scheduled to present her
findings in June at the TechConnect World Innovation Summit & Expo in
suburban Washington, D.C.

Huo's team is pursuing more extensive clinical validation studies with
Florida Hospital and others, including the VA Medical Center Orlando. She
hopes to complete major clinical trials and see the test being used by
physicians in two to three years.

Huo also is researching her technique's effectiveness as a screening tool
for other tumors.

"Potentially, we could have a universal screening test for cancer," she
said. "Our vision is to develop an array of blood tests for early detection
and diagnosis of all major cancer types, and these blood tests are all based
on the same technique and same procedure."

###

Huo co-founded Nano Discovery Inc., a startup company headquartered in a UCF
Business Incubator, to commercialize the new diagnostic test. The company
manufacturers a test device specifically for medical research and diagnostic
purposes. 

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of
news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the
use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

 

 

 

 

url:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/uocf-sf040315.php

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