They have created a test that detects cancer within 10 minutes

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately nine million people die each year from cancer, many of these cases due to late detection and thus less time to fight and overcome the cell mutation

Now from Australia, scientists from the University of Queensland have developed a test that allows cancer cell detection and a quick initial diagnosis in just 10 minutes.

A tool that is still in the early stages of development can not recognize the specific type of cancer that is present or measures the severity of the disease, but promises to test for any type of cancer that will deliver results in a very short time.

In a study published in the Nature Communications magazine, researchers found that DNA differences can detect abnormalities in cancer cells, especially among those who are and are not injured.

This is possible because human cells contain DNA that carries modifications that occur during the methylation process, and there experts have found that the genomic information of cancer cells differs from those in healthy cells.

Cancer DNA cancer is immersed in water into three-dimensional structures. On this basis, the researchers developed a test based on the unique behavior of DNA and the properties of the unexpected ingredient: gold particles.

To assess the presence of cancer, the group added DNA samples to water containing gold nanoparticles that turned water into a pink liquid. When the DNA of the cancer cells was mixed with water, it remained pink. But when the DNA was added from healthy cells, the water became blue due to the difference in the binding of the particles. This is: pink, cancer; blue, absence of cancer.

Over time, this technology would make diagnostic tests more accessible and faster, in order to avoid the need for invasive tissue biopsies. According to Matt Couve, one of the people responsible for the study explains:

Of course, we do not yet know whether it is a sacred grail for all diagnoses of cancer. But it seems very interesting as an incredibly simple universal cancer marker and as an affordable device and cheap technology that does not require complex laboratory equipment, such as a DNA sequence.

The test was performed with 103 samples of human DNA, 72 of which were cancer patients, and 31 were healthy individuals. The test has a sensitivity of about 90%, which means that it can detect about 90 out of every 100 cases. While the remaining 10% would be the wrong positive results.

This mechanism will not be available in hospitals and health centers in the coming months, but it should be noted that the advancement of early detection of cancer is interesting. Even as soon as it is used, access to remote locations will be easy, where they do not have enough diagnostic tools and, of course, doctors can later use positive results for more detailed research.