Scientists in the UK are developing a new test for oral cancer which will allow dentists to detect the disease within minutes.
A team of international researchers at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have received a $2m grant from the National Institutes of Health in the US to develop the test which involves using a brush to remove cells from a patient's mouth, placing them on a chip and inserting the chip into an analyser. A result is then provided in just 8-10 minutes.
The new test will not only prove convenient for patients, but will also reduce waiting times and save the NHS money.
Professor Martin Thornhill, who is leading the team in Sheffield, said: "This new affordable technology will significantly increase our ability to detect oral cancer in the future."
"Diagnosis currently involves removing a small piece of tissue from the mouth and sending it to a pathologist. This is typically done at a hospital, can take a week or more and involve extra visits for the patient."
"With the new technology, a brush would be used to painlessly remove a few cells from the lining of the mouth that would be analysed within minutes in the presence of the patient, so that the patient would know the result before leaving the clinic."
"This technology will make it easier for us to screen suspicious lesions in the mouth and separate non-cancerous lesions from those where there is a risk of cancer and those where cancer has already developed."
The researchers are now conducting clinical trials on patients at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital in Sheffield to perfect the technology and make it as sensitive as possible.
If the trials confirm the test to be as effective as carrying out a biopsy – the current 20-minute method used to detect mouth cancer – then it could become a routine procedure for dentists in the future.
