THE ESSENTIAL
- Lung cancer is the third most common cancer but occupies the first position in terms of mortality, in particular because it is often diagnosed late.
- A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a urine test to detect it “months or even years before they start to cause symptoms”, which would change the situation.
- So far, the team has shown that the test works in mice. It must now move on to the final stages of preclinical validation.
It kills more than 33,000 people in France each year. Lung cancer is the third most common cancer but occupies the first position in terms of cancer mortality in our country… and in the rest of the world! If this cancer is the deadliest, it is in particular because it is often diagnosed late, at such an advanced stage that treatments no longer respond. Finding a way to detect it early is therefore an ultimate goal for many researchers, including this team of scientists from the University of Cambridge, who succeeded in developing a urine test to detect certain early signs of lung cancer. A press release published in Cancer Research UK – the organization which funded this work – tells us more.
A test that identifies “zombie” cells
“We know that before cancer appears, changes occur in the affected tissues”, explains Professor Ljiljana Fruk, one of the two scientists who led the work. “One of these changes is the accumulation of damaged cells that are not damaged enough to be eliminated, but enough to release signals that reprogram the tissue and make it perfect for cancer development”, she adds. These senescent cells are often called “zombie” cells because, as the researcher explains, they are not completely dead.
Using this information, the team was able to identify a specific protein released by these “zombie” cells in the lung tissue. “We designed a probe that cuts into two pieces in its presence,” says Professor Fruk.
Diagnosis of lung cancer: how does this urine test work?
The test begins with an injection to introduce the probe into the body. Once it is cut in half by the target protein, the smaller part travels to the kidneys, allowing it to be released through the bladder into urine. On the laboratory side, scientists add a silver solution to urine samples to make it change color.
“By monitoring the color of the urine after the catheter injection, we can tell if cells are present in the lungs that would indicate early signs of pathological changes that could lead to cancer”, specifies the expert.
“This new approach could identify lung cancers months or even years before they start to cause symptoms”, indicates the press release. In certain cases, this would allow the patient to be treated without resorting to surgery. Another significant aspect: the much lower cost of this test compared to scanners.
So far, the team has shown that the test works in mice. It now needs to move on to the final stages of preclinical validation and then hopes to extend this technology to other types of cancers, including pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and melanoma.
