{"id":317,"date":"2021-09-24T01:52:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T06:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/?p=317"},"modified":"2021-09-24T02:35:13","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T07:35:13","slug":"a-non-invasive-test-for-detecting-and-locating-cancer-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/nanoparticles\/a-non-invasive-test-for-detecting-and-locating-cancer-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"A Non-invasive Test for Detecting and Locating Cancer Cells"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"416\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Cancer-Cells-1-1024x416.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-318\" srcset=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Cancer-Cells-1-1024x416.jpg 1024w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Cancer-Cells-1-300x122.jpg 300w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Cancer-Cells-1-768x312.jpg 768w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Cancer-Cells-1.jpg 1903w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When diagnosing cancer, most of the tests used by doctors (such as mammography, colonoscopy, and CT scans) are based on imaging. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have now created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41563-021-01042-y\">new diagnostic nanoparticles<\/a> that can be used to monitor tumor recurrence after treatment or to conduct routine cancer screening. It combines these two features: it can reveal the presence of oncoproteins through urine tests and can be used as an imaging agent to pinpoint the location of the tumor. In principle, this diagnosis can be used to detect cancer in any part of the body, including tumors that have metastasized from their original location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is\na sensor designed to respond to primary tumors and their metastases. It\ntriggers the urine signal and allows us to see the location of the tumor. In a\nnew study, Sangeeta Bhatia and her colleagues found that the diagnosis could be\nused to monitor colon cancer progression, including the spread of metastatic\ntumors to the lungs and liver. Eventually, scientists hope it can be developed\ninto a routine cancer test that can be carried out every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to\nlocate tumors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over\nthe past few years, Sangeeta Bhatia has been developing methods for the\ndiagnosis of cancer that works by producing synthetic biomarkers which can be\neasily detected in urine. Most cancer cells express an enzyme called protease,\nwhich helps cancer cells escape from their original position by cutting\nproteins in the extracellular matrix. The developed cancer detection\nnanoparticles are coated with peptides that are cleaved by these proteases.\nWhen these particles encounter a tumor, the peptides are cleaved and excreted\nin the urine so that they can be easily detected. In animal models of lung\ncancer, these biomarkers can detect the presence of tumors at an early stage;\nhowever, they cannot indicate the exact location of the tumor or whether the\ntumor has spread beyond its organs of origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this\nbasis, the researchers hope to develop a so-called &#8220;multimodal&#8221;\ndiagnostic method that can perform molecular screening (detection of urine\nsignals) and imaging to accurately locate the original tumors and\/or their\nmetastatic locations. To optimize the particles to be used in positron emission\ntomography imaging (PET imaging), the researchers added a radioactive tracer\ncalled copper-64 (64Cu). They also coated particles a peptide that is attracted\nby acidic environments, such as the microenvironment in the tumor, to induce\nparticles to accumulate at the tumor site. Once they reach the tumor, the\npeptides insert themselves into the cell membrane, producing strong imaging\nsignals above the background noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nresearchers tested these diagnostic particles in mouse models of metastatic\ncolon cancer, and they were able to use urine signals and imaging agents to\ntrack the tumor&#8217;s response to treatment. The researchers also found that using\nnanoparticles to deliver copper-64 has an advantage over the strategies\ncommonly used for PET imaging. PET tracer (known as fluorodeoxyglucose, FDG),\nis a radioactive form of glucose that can be absorbed by metabolically active\ncells (including cancer cells). However, when exposed to FDG, the heart\ngenerates bright PET signals that can obscure weaker signals from nearby lung\ntumors. Scientists found that using acid-sensitive nanoparticles to accumulate\ncopper-64 in a tumor environment could provide a clearer image of lung tumors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next: cancer\nscreening<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If approved for use in human patients, Sangeeta Bhatia envisages that this diagnostic method can be used to assess patients&#8217; response to treatment and to monitor long-term tumor recurrence or metastasis (especially colon cancer). &#8220;for example, urine tests can be performed on these patients every six months,&#8221; Sangeeta Bhatia said. &#8220;If the urine test is positive, patients can use a radioactive version of the same reagent for a follow-up imaging test to show the spread location of the tumor. &#8221; In the long run, the technique is expected to be used as part of the diagnostic workflow to regularly detect any type of cancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Hao, L., Rohani, N., Zhao, R. T., Pulver, E. M., Mak, H., Kelada, O. J., \u2026 &amp; Bhatia, S. N. (2021). Microenvironment-triggered multimodal precision diagnostics. Nature Materials, 1-9.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When diagnosing cancer, most of the tests used by doctors (such as mammography, colonoscopy, and CT scans) are based on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[82],"class_list":["post-317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-applications","category-nanoparticles","tag-cancer-imaging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions\/328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cd-bioparticles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}