A team of scientists has developed a new blood test that can detect brain cancer faster. The researchers claim that this test requires only 100 microliters of blood to run this novel ‘liquid biopsy’, and within an hour, the method can detect biomarkers associated with glioblastoma which the deadliest and most common type of brain tumor.
According to a report by Science Alert, the method seems to be much better than all other existing tests and markers for glioblastoma due to its excellent accuracy. The developers of the prototype say it has “near turn-key functionality”.
A US and Australian team, led by scientists from the University of Notre Dame in the US has achieved this breakthrough. According to the researchers, the test is based on sensing mutated blood biomarkers, called epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs), which are overexpressed in certain cancers, like glioblastoma.
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Interestingly, these blood biomarkers are found tucked inside extracellular vesicles, which are small packages that contain proteins, lipids, and genetic material from their original cells.
“Extracellular vesicles or exosomes are unique nanoparticles secreted by cells. They are big – 10 to 50 times bigger than a molecule – and they have a weak charge. Our technology was specifically designed for these nanoparticles, using their features to our advantage,” explains biomolecular engineer Hsueh-Chia Chang from Notre Dame as quoted by Science Alert.
The researchers coat a supersensitive biochip in an untreated sample of blood plasma to detect the molecules released from the cells of cancerous tumors.
The researchers argue that this test could have “great implications” for cancer research, biomarker discovery, and disease monitoring and can be beneficial not just for brain cancer.
However, various factors also need to be analysed. The team maintains that to create a more specific test they need to analyse larger cohorts of glioblastoma patients to understand what biomarkers in their blood set them apart.
The findings of the study were published in the Communications Biology journal.
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