A Quick Cancer Test While Your Teeth Get Cleaned
A routine visit to your local dentist may soon include a quick test for oral cancer.
University of Texas researchers have developed a simple and inexpensive test which dentists can use to detect cancerous cells in the mouth in as little as 10 minutes.
A small acrylic testing device strains cells taken from the patient’s mouth and floods them with a fluorescent solution that sticks to proteins known to be biomarkers for cancer. If the proteins are present, they omit an intense green glow that can easily be detected under a fluorescence microscope. The developer of the new machine, John McDevitt, envisions it being standard equipment in all dental offices and believes it could also be adapted to test for other forms of the disease, such as cervical cancer.
Oral cancer is relatively uncommon, but thousands of people die of the disease each year because it often isn’t detected until it has progressed into the advanced stages.
If you’re interested in hearing more about oral cancer, listen to this broadcast from University of Washington Television.
Source: MIT’s Technology Review
Related Links: NIDCR; Mouth Cancer Foundation; abc NEWS
Spanish Links: Oral Cancer Information from NCI
Tags: Austin; San Antonio; UT Health Science Center; microfluidics
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