MANHATTAN — A blood test developed by researchers at Kansas State University could improve early detection of lung and breast cancer, the university said in a news release Wednesday.
The results could help find cancer before symptoms like coughing and weight loss start, while the cancer is still in stage 1. Lung and breast cancer typically are diagnosed in stage 2, the release said.
The test was developed by chemistry professor Stefan Bossmann and anatomy professor Deryl Troyer.
“We see this as the first step into a new arena of investigation,” Troyer said.
The results have been submitted to Kansas Bio Authority for accelerated testing, and researchers plan to study pancreatic cancer soon.
“Right now the people who could benefit the most are those classified as at-risk for cancer, such as heavy smokers and people who have a family history of cancer,” Troyer said in the release. “The idea is these at-risk groups could go to their physician’s office quarterly or once a year, take an easy-to-do, noninvasive test, and be told early on whether cancer has possibly developed.”
The American Cancer Society estimates about 40,000 breast cancer deaths and 160,000 lung cancer deaths are expected in the United States for 2012.
Numerous studies show the earlier cancer is detected, the greater chance a person has against the disease, the release said.
“The problem, though, is that nobody knows they’re in stage 1,” Bossmann said. “There is often not a red flag to warn that something is wrong. Meanwhile, the person is losing critical time.”
The simple blood test works by detecting increased enzyme activity in the body, the release said. Iron nanoparticles coated with amino acids and a dye interact with enzymes in the patient’s blood sample. Each type of cancer produces a specific enzyme pattern that can be identified by doctors.
“These enzyme patterns can also help distinguish between cancer and an infection or other diseases that commonly occur in the human body,” Bossmann said. “For example, a person who smokes a lot of cigars may develop an inflammation in their lungs. That will drive up some of the markers in the test but not all of them. Doctors will be able to see whether there was too much smoke inhalation or if there is something more serious going on. False-positives are something that we really want to avoid.”
Test results are available in 60 minutes.
In addition to early detection, the test can be used to monitor cancer and observe the effectiveness of drugs as a patient is being treated.
The test was administered on 32 people in various stages of breast or lung cancer, ranging in age from 27 to 81. A control group of 12 people, ages 26 to 62, also was tested.
Results showed a 95 percent success rate in detecting cancer, including those in stages 0 and 1.
Gary Gadbury, a professor of statistics at KSU, helped analyze the data from tests with lung and breast cancer patients.