Nanotech device enables early lung cancer detection

Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) have designed a diagnostic device that uses a simple blood test to detect early-stage lung cancer, which could help patients begin treatment and get ahead of the disease before it spreads.

As noted by UQ’s Dr Richard Lobb, “Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Australia, claiming the lives of almost 9000 people each year.” Yet despite its prevalence, “the initial detection and screening process for the disease can be drawn out and expensive, involving scans, imaging tests and biopsy procedures”.

Looking to fast-track the diagnostic process, Lobb and his colleagues at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) developed a non-invasive nanodevice that analyses the patient’s blood sample, looking for a particular biomarker — the sugars that coat the tiny messenger particles known as extracellular vesicles (EVs).

“These sugar molecules, or glycans, serve as excellent biomarkers because the sugar code on a cancer cell is different to a normal cell,” Lobb said.

“A drop of blood can be all that’s needed to alert clinicians to the presence of small lung cancer nodules and allow intervention while the disease is in its early stages.”

A clinical study involving 40 patients found the technology successfully differentiated patients with early-stage malignant lung nodules from those with benign lung nodules, as detailed in the journal Advanced Science.

“The results show the potential to use EV glycans to diagnose other diseases non-invasively,” said UQ researcher Quan Zhou.

“This device, and a simple blood test, could help clinicians step in before more intensive scanning or treatments or drug regimes are needed.”

Image caption: Quan Zhou holds up the device his laboratory is using to explore faster, more accurate methods of diagnosis. Image credit: The University of Queensland.