OncologyEffective Over-the-Counter Prostate Cancer Test Kit Likely In Next Few Years
An over-the-counter prostate cancer test kit
could be coming to a pharmacy near you, thanks to the collaborative work
of a University of Central Florida chemist and M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center Orlando researchers.
UCF"s Qun "Treen" Huo and M.D. Anderson-Orlando"s Dr. Cheryl
Baker and Jimmie Colon teamed up about 18 months ago with a very
ambitious plan. Huo wanted to develop an effective, inexpensive test to
screen for prostate cancer that would be easy enough to use at home or a
local pharmacy.
"Now cancer tests are so inconvenient and expensive, and a lot of
people don"t have insurance, so they are not likely to test if they
have no symptoms," Huo said. "Cancer is really scary because there
aren"t a lot of symptoms in the early stages. So I said, "Why not
create a test that is easy and inexpensive? Then more people can test
and catch cancer early so it can be treated early.""
Prostate cancer affects one of every six men and is the second-most
common cancer among men in the United States, according to the American
Cancer Society. It is estimated that more than 2 million American men
are currently living with prostate cancer and that one new case occurs
every 2.7 minutes. More than 27,000 men die from the disease each year,
according to the American Cancer Society.
Huo and her team at the UCF lab developed the new technique involving
gold nanoparticles, which she first mixes in a solution. The
nanoparticles are engineered to attach themselves to cancer-producing
proteins related to the type of cancer she is targeting. When she places
a drop of blood in the solution, the gold nanoparticles seek out the
protein. If the protein is present, the gold nanoparticles cluster
around it. Using a dynamic light-scattering instrument, she looks for
the clusters. If there are no clusters, there is no cancer-causing
protein.
During a test, if cancer-producing proteins are detected at a
significant level, the consumer would be directed to see a doctor.
"Think of it like a pregnancy test," Huo said. "It"s the same
principle. Women use it to find out if they are pregnant, but once they
see the results at home, they go to the doctor to be sure."
The cancer-related protein marker that the gold nanoparticles seek out
in Huo"s research is the same one screened for by the FDA-approved
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. The PSA has a good track record as
a protein marker for detecting prostate cancer and has been used by
physicians for years. Huo said her new technique is much more sensitive
and accurate than the PSA and all current techniques used in diagnostic
labs.
"What"s different is the technology," Huo said. "It"s very
simple. The dynamic light-scattering technique is highly sensitive and
can pick up even the smallest trace amount of protein markers."
That"s why the technique also can help doctors track any resurgence
of cancer once a surgery is performed to remove it.
Dr. Baker, director of M.D. Anderson-Orlando"s Cancer Research
Institute, collaborates with Huo by offering her expertise in cancer
research and by providing human blood and serum samples to test Huo"s
technique.
"The excitement for us here at M. D. Anderson-Orlando is that we can
easily test the validity of the technique in our cancer research program
and then on our own patients in a clinical trial," Baker said. "We
are optimistic that we can begin clinical trials with this test within
the next two years."
Huo said that the technique is still years from commercialization, but
that in three to five years an over-the-counter test kit for prostate
cancer is likely. The technique also can be easily adapted to test for
many different types of cancer - Huo plans to focus first on ovarian
and breast cancer.
Huo, who joined UCF in 2005, is an associate professor at the
NanoScience Technology Center and Department of Chemistry. She teaches
and conducts research in nanomaterials chemistry and developing
applications for nanoparticle materials. Her interest in cancer research
stems from watching friends and relatives battle a variety of cancers
with little warning because symptoms are difficult to detect. Much of
her research is funded through the National Science Foundation.
The University of Central Florida