New Device Aids Cancer Detection by Analyzing Particle Shapes in Body Fluids
Scientists have developed a device to analyze the shape of individual particles in body fluids, opening new avenues for cancer detection. The study, led by Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka and published in Analytical Chemistry, suggests that measuring a wider variety of extracellular vesicles (EVs) could improve cancer diagnosis.
EVs, tiny biological particles around 100 nanometers in diameter, carry cellular information and exist in body fluids like blood and urine. Tanaka's team found that measuring EV shape distributions in blood could differentiate breast cancer patients from healthy individuals.
The study, a collaboration between Kyushu, Nagoya, Osaka universities, and Tokyo Medical University, measured EVs from liver, breast, and colorectal cancer cells. Liver cancer EVs showed a mix of spherical and oval particles, while breast cancer EVs were solely spherical.
The research, published on April 28, 2021, with DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00258, indicates that EV shape analysis could serve as a cancer biomarker. Further studies are needed to validate these findings and explore their clinical applications.
Read also:
- Inadequate supply of accessible housing overlooks London's disabled community
- Strange discovery in EU: Rabbits found with unusual appendages resembling tentacles on their heads
- Duration of a Travelling Blood Clot: Time Scale Explained
- Fainting versus Seizures: Overlaps, Distinctions, and Proper Responses
