There's a hope cancer can be detected before it metastasized in the body of the patient for the next years to come.

Kevin Murnane wrote in Forbes that his wife difficult-to-detect form of breast cancer was identified very early. The promising technology that was responsible for that early detection and would increase the likelihood of detecting different types of cancer is the recently developed liquid biopsy that makes use of carbon nanotube.

Along with Kevin's wife, many have benefited the early cancer detection in the past years. And as this would be further develops more lives can be saved. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Louisville and Thomas Jefferson University worked hand in hand with the research and published it in Nanotechnology journal.

In this method a blood sample is taken from the patients and is observed so that cancer cells or genetic material from cancer cells that are circulating in the bloodstream can be detected. Compared to surgical biopsies liquid biopsies are much less invasive and of course a great comfort for patients physically and financially because they will only undergo blood sampling. Before the cancer spread in the body they can be detected earlier.

According to Gene Quantification, the detection of cancerous cells depends upon the fast of blood flows. The detectors seldom detected cancerous cells in faster blood flows because they are swept past before they can be captured, while slower blood flows can be easily detected. This kind of method for performing liquid biopsy is called microfluidic liquid biopsy. Aside from this more kinds can be performed.

This medical development poses as a great achievement. Human for a long period has been incapable of fighting this disease. And though through this method it is not cured but prevented. Still it's a great accomplishment. Cancer can now at least be controlled.

Related