Urine-based breast cancer test

We all know how useful urine tests are for drug detection, but now they can detect something far more dangerous. Dr Yinfa Ma of Missouri University of Science and Technology has developed a screening method that uses urinalysis to diagnose and determine the severity of breast cancer before it can be detected with a mammogram.

Dr Ma has used a device called a P-scan to detect the concentration of metabolites called pteredines in urine samples. The different pteredine molecules are separated, the sample is passed through a light source and a spectrophotometer measures the pteredines in the sample. The biomarkers are present in the urine of all human beings, but abnormally high concentrations can signal the presence of cancer.

“Cancer cells grow much faster than normal cells,” Dr Ma explained. “So they release more waste into the urine and we begin to see a rise in the metabolite levels.”

Dr Ma has had good results so far and is now conducting a larger, blind study. This is part of the validation process required by the FDA to eventually make the P-Scan available in clinics across America as an inexpensive, non-invasive test that could be used during routine physical examinations.

In April, Dr Ma began a clinical trial with Mercy Breast Center and commercialisation partner Emergence BioScreening of St Louis. The study focuses on 300 breast cancer patients and a control group of 100 individuals who have been found to be free of cancer. He hopes to conclude the study within a year.

“When we heard about this study, we were excited to be a partner,” said Dr Roger Holden, Mercy haematologist and oncologist. “We know early detection is the key to beating cancer and if we can detect it in the very earliest stages, before we can see it, there is such a potential for successful treatment and even new treatments.”

Dr Ma explained that mammogram technology is not particularly sensitive, so some early cancers can’t be detected by it. The P-Scan, on the other hand, will be much easier to incorporate into regular physical screenings.

“A patient donates urine and 10 minutes later I have a result,” Dr Ma said. “If this works, it will be an amazing diagnostic tool.

“Using this technology for early cancer screenings in the future could save many lives.”

Once Dr Ma proves the technology works for breast cancer, he can determine whether studying pteredine levels in urine samples is an accurate way to detect and diagnose other types of cancers as well.

“We will go cancer by cancer until we know,” Dr Ma said.

Currently all testing is done manually. But once the validation study is complete, Dr Ma will work with Emergence BioScreening in St Louis on the next step in the process - building an automated, FDA-approved instrument that can be manufactured for clinical use.