A simple test that costs less than $1 can diagnose prostate cancer and it is more accurate than a standard PSA test. A University of Central Florida researcher and scientist developed this easy-to-use test which yields results in just minutes.
Dr. Qun "Treen" Huo, the scientist who developed the test, is head of UCF's NanoScience Technology Center. She developed a blood test that holds promise in the early detection of one of the most deadly cancers in men.
The National Cancer Institute reports that around 220,800 new cases of Prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year while 27,540 are estimated to die from this type of cancer. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. About 1 man in 38 will die of prostate cancer.
This simple test would also reduce the rate of invasive procedures and biopsies that are being done due to the lack of precision and accuracy of the standard test used today.
"It's fantastic. It's a simple test. It's much better than the test we have right now, which is the PSA, and it's cost-effective," Dr. Inoel Rivera, a urologic oncologist at Florida Hospital Cancer Institute told Science Daily.
The Economic Times further reported, the test will identify the immune response using gold nanoparticles about 10,000 times smaller than a freckle. When the blood has cancer markers, they will attach themselves to the gold nanoparticles causing them to clamp together.
Dr. Huo explained, "What's different and unique about our technique is it's a very simple process, and the material required for the test is less than $1. And because it's low-cost, we're hoping most people can have this test in their doctor's office. If we can catch this cancer in its early stages, the impact is going to be big."
The study was published in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and Dr. Huo is scheduled to present her findings at the TechConnect World Innovation Summit & Expo in suburban Washington, D.C.
