We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Low-Cost, Portable Device Detects Colorectal and Prostate Cancer in An Hour

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 28 Oct 2024
Print article
Image: The low-cost, portable device can detect colorectal and prostate cancer in as little as one hour (Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at El Paso)
Image: The low-cost, portable device can detect colorectal and prostate cancer in as little as one hour (Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at El Paso)

Early detection of cancer biomarkers before the disease progresses significantly enhances a patient’s chances of survival. Delays in testing, particularly in areas lacking access to expensive tools and instruments, can adversely affect a patient’s prognosis. The most commonly used commercial method for detecting cancer biomarkers, known as ELISA, requires costly instrumentation and can take 12 hours or more to process a sample. This delay is exacerbated in rural parts of the U.S. or in developing countries, where patient samples often need to be transported to larger cities equipped with specialized instruments, leading to increased cancer mortality rates. Researchers have now developed a portable device that can detect colorectal and prostate cancer more efficiently and affordably than existing methods. This device may prove especially beneficial in developing nations, which face higher cancer mortality rates partly due to obstacles in medical diagnosis.

The device, created by researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso, TX, USA), employs a microfluidic design, allowing it to perform multiple functions using very small fluid volumes. It features an innovative “paper-in-polymer-pond” structure where patient blood samples are introduced into tiny wells and onto a specialized type of paper. This paper captures cancer protein biomarkers within the blood samples in just a few minutes. The paper then changes color, with the intensity of the color indicating the type of cancer detected and its stage of progression. Although the initial research has focused on prostate and colorectal cancers, the method could potentially be adapted for various cancer types. The device can analyze a sample in one hour, compared to the 16 hours required by some traditional methods.

According to results published in the journal Lab on a Chip, this device is also approximately 10 times more sensitive than traditional methods, even without the use of specialized instruments. This sensitivity allows it to detect cancer biomarkers present in smaller quantities, typical of early-stage cancer, which a less sensitive device might overlook. Before the device can be made available to the public, a prototype will need to be finalized, and it will require testing on patients in a clinical trial, which may take several years. It will also need final approval from the Food and Drug Administration before being used by healthcare professionals.

“Our new biochip device is low-cost — just a few dollars — and sensitive, which will make accurate disease diagnosis accessible to anyone, whether rich or poor,” said XiuJun (James) Li, Ph.D., a UTEP professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “It is portable, rapid and eliminates the need for specialized instruments.”

Gold Member
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® Patented HydraFlock®
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Silver Member
H-FABP Assay
Heart-Type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Assay
New
Malondialdehyde HPLC Test
Malondialdehyde in Serum/Plasma – HPLC

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: QIP-MS could predict and detect myeloma relapse earlier compared to currently used techniques (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Mass Spectrometry-Based Monitoring Technique to Predict and Identify Early Myeloma Relapse

Myeloma, a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow, is currently incurable, though many patients can live for over 10 years after diagnosis. However, around 1 in 5 individuals with myeloma have a high-risk... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.