Magnetic Trap for Cancer
Magnetic wire diagnoses cancer at an early stage
Natalia Pelezneva, Naked Science
Scientists from Stanford University have developed a technique that allows detecting oncological diseases at an early stage, including before the first symptoms appear. The development was successfully tested on pigs. The description of the technology is published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
The new technique works with circulating tumor cells (CCCs) – these cells are separated from the tumor that originally appeared in the body and enter the bloodstream. They contribute to the appearance of metastases, secondary foci of the disease. Today, they are most often detected by analyzing a blood sample, but this method may not be effective enough if there are relatively few such cells in the patient's blood.
The authors of the new development propose to catch the COC from the bloodstream using iron nanoparticles. Previously, such particles were used in the treatment of cancer and anemia. Antibodies to the EpCAM protein (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) are placed on the surface of nanoparticles: this protein is present on the surface of many circulating tumor cells, while it does not occur on the surface of blood cells. The particles are injected into the bloodstream, where they bind to circulating cells.
Then a thin magnetized wire is inserted into the patient's vein using a catheter. It attracts iron particles, and with them the necessary cancer cells for analysis. According to scientists, this technology allows you to catch 10-80 times more circulating cells than a standard blood test. This was confirmed by tests on pigs: cancer cells were injected into the bloodstream of animals to simulate the presence of CSC. A wire placed in a vein behind the animal's ear made it possible to effectively detect moving cells.
System operation scheme
© Nature Biomedical Engineering
Scientists are planning to move on to testing the technology with the participation of people, for this they are investigating the degree of toxicity of nanoparticles and the rate of their destruction in the body.
Earlier, Japanese scientists created a method for diagnosing cancer by urine tests.
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