Lung cancer could be identified earlier, thanks to a new test that uses surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect a cancer biomarker in urine
Detecting lung cancer is difficult as it is hidden in the body, and current clinical methods are not effective at an early stage; the one-year survival rate after diagnosis in the UK is just 29–33%. Acetyl amantadine (AcAm) is recognised as an exogeneous cancer biomarker because it is the product of a metabolic process known to be significantly up-regulated in cancerous cells. After ingestion, the antiparkinson and antiviral drug amantadine is acetylated in the body by the enzyme spermidine/spermine N1 acetyltransferase to give AcAm, which can be detected in patient urine. However, techniques previously used to quantify AcAm in urine, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), are undesirable for clinical adoption due to high costs and long run times.
Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…
Quantification of an exogenous cancer biomarker in urinalysis by Raman Spectroscopy
Guangyi Cao, Ghazal Hajisalem, Wei Li, Fraser Hof and Reuven Gordon
Analyst, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4AN01309C
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