Rapid cancer diagnosis using urine

South Korean researchers have successfully developed a strip-type urine sensor that can amplify the light signal of metabolites in urine for diagnosing cancer in the field. Described in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, the technology can be applied for the examination of prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer without additional analysis, by irradiating light after a small volume (10 µL) of urine is dropped.

A number of diagnosis techniques detect the presence of cancer through blood tests or radiological methods and diagnose cancer through histological analysis. Many people try to track the occurrence of cancer through annual health check-ups, but in many cases the cancer is detected late and treatment is delayed. Seeking to remedy this, the research team paid attention to the difference in metabolomic components present in the urine of cancer patients and healthy people. When cancer cells proliferate in the body, they secrete different metabolites into urine due to abnormal metabolism.

The team developed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor that amplifies the optical signal of metabolites in urine more than 1 billion times by forming a coral-shaped plasmonic nanomaterial on porous paper. When urine is dropped into the sensor and light is irradiated, cancer metabolite signals are amplified on the sensor surface, making it possible to diagnose cancer. The team applied an artificial intelligence-based analysis method to the acquired spectral signal and succeeded in distinguishing up to 99% of prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer patients from healthy people.

The test device is manufactured in the form of a strip so that cancer can be diagnosed quickly and with high sensitivity in the field. It is also notable that the device uses urine, a biological sample that anyone can easily obtain. It can be used for a new cancer diagnosis, onsite rapid cancer patient screening, and monitoring after treatment. In addition, since the production price of the strip-type sensor is less than KRW 100 per unit, it is expected that it can be used for mass inspection.

“In the case of cancers where the diagnosis method is not well-known, such as pancreatic cancer, it is difficult to detect and the survival rate after initial diagnosis is low,” said senior researcher Ho Sang Jung, from the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS).

“Since early diagnosis is the most important for incurable diseases such as cancer, we expect this technology to provide a new diagnostic method.”

The research team is gradually increasing the types of cancer that can be diagnosed, by analysing the urine of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer patients.

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