New diagnostic technologies offer non-invasive means
6/20/2007 London, England staff medicexchange.com Molecular messages and signals circulating in blood or contained in cells lining the airway can identify early stage cancer, according to research reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Scientists looking to apply basic science knowledge to medical practice are developing tests that diagnose, predict or monitor cancer risks, without invasive tissue sampling. Such tests could benefit all, particularly underserved populations, such as the poor, who often wait until symptoms appear before seeing a doctor. A simple oral rinse could detect the early development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, according to researchers at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their strategy involves the detection of CD44, a protein biomarker for HNSCC tumors, combined with the detection of cancer-related altered DNA, and could reliably distinguish cancer from benign diseases. Currently, only 50 per cent of head and neck cancer patients are cured of the disease. While late-stage HNSCC has a poor prognosis, cure rates exceed 80 per cent if caught early enough. "Head and neck cancers are devastating for all patients. They are particularly challenging for the poor and disadvantaged, who often do not have the adequate, regular care that makes early detection more likely," said Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology at Miami. "Our study has shown that an oral rinse test, simple enough to be administered at any community health center, is likely to detect cancer about 90 per cent of the time." [...]