UHNM researchers develop groundbreaking blood test for lung cancer
Researchers at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) have developed a pioneering blood test that could change the way cancer is detected and monitored.
The study, published in Applied Spectroscopy and developed in partnership with Keele University, Loughborough University and other leading UK partners shows for the first time that a new technique called Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy can find even a single cancer cell in a patient’s blood.
The cancer cells known as circulating tumour cells (CTCs) can break away from a tumour and travel in the bloodstream giving important clues about how the disease is progressing and how well treatment is working. These are the cancer cells that could lead to cancer spreading (metastases).
Current methods to detect these cells are complicated, expensive, time-consuming and can sometimes miss cancer cells if they change their characteristics whilst in the bloodstream in the body.
The UHNM research team’s new method is simpler, cheaper, and uses standard glass slides already found in pathology labs making it easier to use adopt in everyday clinical practice.
The team successfully tested the new method using a blood sample from a 77 year-old lung cancer patient at UHNM. Using advanced scanning technology and computer analysis, researchers were able to pinpoint a single cancer cell among thousands of healthy blood cells with the result independently confirmed by specialist testing.
Professor Josep Sulé-Suso, associate specialist in oncology at UHNM and lead author of the study, said: "This breakthrough could allow doctors to monitor cancer in real time using a simple blood test.
“Our team was able to detect a single lung cancer cell in a patient’s blood by combining advanced infrared scanning technology with computer analysis, focusing on the unique chemical fingerprint of cancer cells. It works using an infrared beam similar to one found in a TV remote control, but more powerful.
“This approach has the potential to help patients receive earlier diagnoses, personalised treatments, and fewer invasive procedures, and it could eventually be applied to many types of cancer beyond lung cancer. "
The team will now evaluate this approach in larger patient groups, with the aim of developing a rapid, automated blood test that could be integrated into NHS cancer care pathways.
The project was supported by UHNM Charity and the North Staffordshire Medical Institute, with additional support backing from Keele University and Loughborough University and international research facilities.
Lisa Thomson, director of UHNM Charity, said: “By investing in research, new technologies and innovative approaches to care, UHNM Charity is giving our clinicians the tools and opportunities to deliver better treatments and faster diagnoses today while driving the breakthroughs that will shape the future of healthcare for our patients.”
