In a groundbreaking development, scientists have devised a urine test that could potentially detect the earliest signs of lung cancer. Currently, most cases in England are diagnosed at an advanced stage, making treatment more challenging.
However, researchers believe that early detection could lead to earlier treatment, significantly improving patients’ chances of overcoming the disease. The innovative test targets “zombie” cell proteins, which may indicate lung cancer in its initial stages.
Following successful trials on mice, scientists are eager to commence human testing. A team from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and the Early Cancer Institute, investigated proteins secreted by senescent cells, often referred to as “zombie cells” due to their inability to grow and divide despite being alive in the body.
These cells cause tissue damage by altering their environment to facilitate the emergence of cancer cells. To counter this, scientists have created an injectable sensor that interacts with zombie cell proteins, releasing a detectable compound into the urine, signaling their presence.
Researcher Professor Ljiljana Fruk explained to the PA news agency: “We know that before cancer emerges there are changes in the affected tissues. One of the changes is the accumulation of damaged cells that are not damaged enough to be removed, but enough to release signals that reprogram the tissue and make it perfect for cancer development.”
She further detailed: “We identified a specific protein released by these cells in lung tissue and designed a probe that is cut into two pieces in its presence. The probe is composed of two parts and the smaller one is released into urine through kidneys. Once in urine, this part of the probe is too small to be detected, but it can be made visible by adding a bit of silver solution to it – the same silver compound used in photography in the early days of analogue photos.
“By monitoring the colour of urine after the injection of the probe we can say if cells are present in lungs that would indicate the early signs of pathological changes that might lead to cancer.”
She concluded: “Ultimately, we wanted to develop a urine test that could help doctors identify signs of the early stages of cancer – potentially months or even years before noticeable symptoms appear.”
Scientists sponsoring the study, funded by Cancer Research UK, expressed their enthusiasm to identify a test that serves as a cost-effective substitute for expensive scans. Prof Fruk stated: “We urgently need cost effective, easy to use and sensitive strategies for early detection of cancer, particularly within high risk groups or those in danger of cancer recurrence.
“Urine tests such like this could be performed in hospital labs even in the absence of expensive imaging instruments and rely both on specific proteins which can be linked to particular tissue. We worked on lung, but there are other proteins that will be present in other tissues undergoing changes.”
Experts are optimistic about concluding the pre-clinical phase of clinical trials shortly and evaluating the effectiveness of the test in human subjects.
“We have proven that urine detection works in mice,” Prof Fruk remarked. “We now need to move to more pre-clinical validation, identification of specific proteins in other cancers – we are interested in breast, melanoma and pancreatic cancer – and then validate it in patients.”
“Of course, parallel to science we need to make sure that we have a kit in place which can be easily used by hospital lab technicians all over the world. Lots of progress has been done in treatment of particular types of cancers, but we need to do more and we need to do it faster.”
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, highlighted the organisation’s pivotal role in combating lung cancer: “Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of lung cancer progress for more than 50 years, with over half a million lives saved from lung cancer since the mid-1980s. The announcement of this project being led by Professor Fruk is another example of our commitment to driving progress so that more people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Kelly, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) spokesperson for the East of England, emphasised the importance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month: “With Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we hope people will do what they can to show their support – whether that’s backing our Smokefree UK campaign or donating to help our scientists make the next big breakthrough.”
Lung cancer remains the third most common cancer in the UK, with around 50,000 new cases each year. Sadly, only 10% of patients survive for 10 years post-diagnosis. CRUK statistics reveal that approximately 46% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at a later stage.