Cancer Research Journal » Mesothelioma

JILA Scientists Create a Cancer Breathalyzer

Lisa — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:57:43 +0000

Most people think of breathalyzers as a tool to combat drunk driving, but a new type of breathalyzer could soon help doctors detect cancer, kidney failure, and other diseases impacting the lungs while they’re still in the early stages.

Researchers at JILA, an institution jointly operated by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, based their innovative breathalyzer on earlier optical frequency comb technology awarded a Nobel Prize in 2005.

Adapting the optical frequency comb technology’s principles to spectroscopy, the scientists created a microwave-sized device that bounces laser beams through molecules exhaled in human breath. The system reveals the detailed composition of the breath, including the presence of biomarkers known to be associated with specific diseases.

According to the researchers, one important benefit of the device is its ability to determine the ratio of different molecules contained in a person’s breath because changes in those ratios can also point to problems. During one test involving a smoker, the breathalyzer detected five times the normal level of carbon monoxide. JILA’s team hopes once the breathalyzer is refined and tested, it will provide an affordable, non-invasive method for detecting asthma, lung cancer and other chronic medical conditions. As the team’s leader explained,

“Once it’s mass produced, the cost could be quite low. It could be put into every doctor’s clinic so people could walk in and do painless breath tests and then walk away. They would get the results in a day or so.”

Dr Jun Ye
Physicist, JILA

The experimental device has only been tested on a few college students and has only shown to be effective in detecting diseases which somehow involve lung function, yet the scientists are optimistic the breathalyzer’s applications will expand as the technology improves.

If you’d like to learn more, results of the research are published in the February 18, 2008, online edition of Optics Express.

Source: ABC News

Technorati Tags: physics; Optical Society of America; biotechnology; diagnosing lung cancer; emphysema; pulmonary disease; oncology

DoD Makes Mesothelioma Research Money Available

Lisa — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:05:08 +0000

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Medical Research Program is making mesothelioma research a priority for the 2008 grant cycle, a move which potentially makes millions of grant dollars available to civilian scientists studying the deadly disease.

Mesothelioma, a rare cancer strongly linked to asbestos exposure, occurs at elevated rates in certain populations of military veterans. In fact, one-third of all known mesothelioma cases are associated with the U.S. Navy and shipyard exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma advocacy groups worked with 15 senators, led by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), for several years to promote the initiative. Those advocates are now strongly encouraging methothelioma investigators to take advantage of the new funding opportunity so mesothelioma research remains a candidate for federal funding in the future.

If you’d like more information on criteria for the grant, you can contact the Meso Foundation at (805)563-8400.

Source: Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

Miner Mesothelioma Study May Get More Money

Lisa — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:00:53 +0000

The Iron Range Resources Board has voted to spend $250,000 for medical testing on miners to support a University of Minnesota School of Public Health study on mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that disproportionately strikes mine workers.

Tom Rukavina (DFL) from the Minnesota House of Representatives proposed the funding after the Minnesota Department of Health was criticized for withholding data on 35 miners diagnosed with the disease. The controversy surrounding miner mesothelioma has already led to the resignation of Dianne Mandernach, Minnesota’s Health Commissioner, on Oct 2, 2007.

The proposed IRR funding is contingent upon matching funds and approval from both Governor Tim Pawlenty and IRR Commissioner Sandy Layman.

Source: Associated Press article from wcco.com

Related Video: Mesothelioma from YouTube.com

Spanish/Espanol Link: Mesotelioma Pleural from Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Tags: asbestos; taconite; Minnesota Department of Human Services; occupational cancers; disease clusters