Method could facilitate commercially available, at-home urine tests
Early screening for prostate cancer could become as easy for men as personal pregnancy testing is for women, thanks to UC Irvine research published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
After more than a decade of work, UC Irvine chemists have created a way to clearly identify clinically usable markers for prostate cancer in urine, meaning that the disease could be detected far sooner, with greater accuracy and at dramatically lower cost. The same technology could potentially be used for bladder and multiple myeloma cancers, which also shed identifiable markers in urine.
“Our goal is a device the size of a home pregnancy test priced around $10. You would buy it at the drugstore or the grocery store and test yourself,” said the study’s corresponding author, Reginald Penner, UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor of chemistry. “We’re on the verge of a very important breakthrough in a new era of personal health management.”
About 240,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 29,000 are expected to die of it in 2013. But current, widely utilized testing does not always catch the disease in its early stages, often yields false positives and can lead to unnecessary, risky treatments.
A recent report concluded that the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test can be more harmful than beneficial, although it remains important for detecting recurring prostate cancer. The UC Irvine researchers used a different biomarker, PSMA, and plan to test others to pinpoint if a cancer is growing aggressively or not.
“A big problem is that the approach used now does not catch cancer soon enough,” said co-author Gregory Weiss, a UC Irvine biochemist. “We want this to be a disruptive technology that will change how we save lives and that will bring down healthcare costs drastically.”
The researchers used a combination of readily available chemicals and unique electronic sensors to create the screening process.
Salt in urine helps conduct electricity but also makes it challenging for typical biosensors to differentiate the “signals” of cancer molecules from “noise” around them in the electrodes. The UC Irvine team developed a new type of sensor: They added nanoscale protein receptors to tiny, pencil-like viruses called phages that live only within bacteria. Double wrapping the phages with additional receptors greatly increases the capture and transmission of cancer molecule signals.
“We add a high concentration of the viruses, and they get trapped directly in the electrode. We’re jamming the signal with the cancer marker, and it stays on louder than all the other material,” said lead author Kritika Mohan, a graduate student with Weiss’ lab. “To our surprise, it works really well in the ingredients that make up urine.”
The next step is human clinical trials, which the researchers hope can be conducted fairly quickly since the testing will be noninvasive. The method has been patented and licensed, and a commercial partner has been identified.
The Latest Bing News on:
Prostate cancer
- Make Prostate Cancer Screening a priority in 2021on January 14, 2021 at 4:24 am
Screening for prostate cancer starts at 40 years old. Dr. Paul Arnold of Arnold Urology shares that a screening looks for cancer before it causes symptoms and can find cancers that may spread if not ...
- Publication of a Health Economic Analysis Demonstrates IsoPSA® Significantly Reduces Unnecessary Prostate Cancer Biopsies and Costson January 13, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Cleveland Diagnostics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of next-generation diagnostic tests for early detection of cancers, announced today the publication of a ...
- How Has The Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted Cancer Research?on January 13, 2021 at 1:09 pm
More than twice as many people died from cancer in the U.S. last year than of Covid-19. We asked five researchers about how the pandemic has affected their vital research.
- Coffee Might Help Ward Off Prostate Canceron January 12, 2021 at 7:06 am
A cup of java may not be a bad idea for men's health: Drinking lots of coffee may reduce their risk of prostate cancer, researchers report. The investigators analyzed data from 16 studies conducted ...
- Meta-analysis links higher coffee intake with lower prostate cancer riskon January 11, 2021 at 8:41 pm
A new systematic review and meta-analysis encompassing the most current research has found a distinctly positive correlation between high levels of coffee consumption and a lower risk of prostate ...
- Drinking a few cups of coffee every day could keep prostate cancer at bay and increase patients' chances of survival by 16%, study findson January 11, 2021 at 3:43 pm
The research, by China Medical University, found that coffee drinkers were 10 per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer than non-regular coffee drinkers.
- Higher coffee intake may be linked to lower prostate cancer riskon January 11, 2021 at 3:41 pm
Drinking several cups of coffee every day may be linked to a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the online journal BMJ ...
- Study: Coffee reduces risk for prostate canceron January 11, 2021 at 3:31 pm
Drinking several cups of coffee daily appears to lower risk for developing prostate cancer, according to an analysis published Monday by BMJ Open.
- A few cups of coffee a day could keep prostate cancer at bay – studyon January 11, 2021 at 8:53 am
“Increased” coffee consumption may be linked with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, according to a study.Researchers found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with a reduced ...
- Study: Genes help explain role of race in prostate cancer riskon January 8, 2021 at 12:05 am
A Black man's risk of getting prostate cancer is 75% higher than it is for a White man -- and the disease is twice as deadly -- but genetic risks for people of various racial and ethnic groups is ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Prostate cancer
The Latest Bing News on:
Prostate cancer detection
- Study shows sharp decline in cancer screenings, diagnoses during the first COVID-19 surgeon January 14, 2021 at 8:06 am
In one of the first studies to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnoses, researchers at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center document a substantial decline in cancer ...
- Publication of a Health Economic Analysis Demonstrates IsoPSA® Significantly Reduces Unnecessary Prostate Cancer Biopsies and Costson January 13, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Cleveland Diagnostics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of next-generation diagnostic tests for early detection of cancers, announced today the publication of a ...
- While Other Cancers See Declines in Diagnosis and Death Rates, Prostate Cancer Reaches Historic Highson January 13, 2021 at 9:34 pm
For the second year, significant increases in diagnoses and mortalities and continued racial disparities bring renewed urgency to the prostate cancer fight.
- U.S. Cancer Death Rate Continues 30-Year Decline While the Incidence Rate Is Flaton January 13, 2021 at 5:15 pm
The American Cancer Society's latest roundup of cancer statistics is now out and the news is generally good. The data on cancer mortality and incidence rates are through 2018 and 2017 respectively.
- For many cancer patients, diagnosis carries psychological 'silver lining'on January 12, 2021 at 12:05 am
Could a cancer diagnosis sometimes produce positive life changes? In a new study, many people with colon cancer, even in advanced stages, believed their diagnosis had brought some beneficial effects ...
- Prostate Cancer Risk Potentially Decreased by Following the Mediterranean Dieton January 11, 2021 at 5:00 am
Mediterranean-style diet helped men with localized prostate cancer fare better over the course of their disease.
- Huge Prostate Cancer Genetics Study Highlights Disparities in Risk, Researchon January 8, 2021 at 7:07 pm
The findings could lead to a precision medicine approach to prostate cancer screening. Data from 200,000 men gathered worldwide have helped reveal 86 new genetic variants that can boost the risk for ...
- Study: Genes help explain role of race in prostate cancer riskon January 8, 2021 at 12:05 am
A Black man's risk of getting prostate cancer is 75% higher than it is for a White man -- and the disease is twice as deadly -- but genetic risks for people of various racial and ethnic groups is ...
- Mediterranean diet has the potential to effect progression of prostate canceron January 7, 2021 at 2:53 pm
In a study to examine a Mediterranean diet in relation to prostate cancer progression in men on active surveillance, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that men ...
- Mediterranean diet may decrease risk of prostate cancer progressionon January 7, 2021 at 10:04 am
In a study to examine a Mediterranean diet in relation to prostate cancer progression in men on active surveillance, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that men ...