New Nanotech Helps Detect Early-Stage Cancer 18
CWmike writes "Stanford University researchers have used nanotechnology and magnetics to create a biosensor that they said should be able to detect cancer in its early stages. The sensor, which sits on a microchip, is 1,000 times more sensitive than cancer detectors used clinically today, say scientists at Stanford. The researchers announced this week that the sensors have been effective in finding early-stage tumors in mice, giving them hope that it can be equally successful in detecting elusive cancers in humans. 'In the early stage [of a cancer], the protein biomarker level in blood is very, very low, so you need ultra-sensitive technology to detect it,' said Shan Wang, professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. 'If you can detect it early, you can have early intervention and you have a much better chance to cure that person.' Wang also noted that the biosensor could be used to determine whether chemotherapy or other cancer treatments are working after only a few days."
Re:And what level should doctors intervene? (Score:1, Interesting)
That's actually the argument against prostate specific antigen screening.
The detection rates (and treatment rates) are way up. However there is no evidence that the occurrence rates have actually gone up.
This seems to indicate that they are treating a lot more people than previously would have needed it.
Re:Publication is here: doi:10.1038/nm.2032 (Score:2, Interesting)
P.S. Here is an older publication which has been open-sourced (open access) and which shows the technology:
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/52/20637.abstract [pnas.org]