A trip to the dentist may soon mean a check for oral cancer as well as for cavities because of a new optical sensor. The highly-sensitive sensor detects proteins in saliva associated with oral cancer, making it possible to catch the disease early, when the rate of patient survival is almost 90 percent. The American Cancer Society says there are about 35,000 new cases every year, and the survival rate in advanced stages is only 50 percent.
Until now, the only way to test for oral cancer was through visual examination, which is often ineffective, or through biopsy to analyze proteins in the blood. The team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that developed the new sensor used chemicals to isolate potential cancer cells in saliva, followed by a “confocal” microscope which uses a laser to check for cancer cells.
According to a scientist in Texas who also does salivary diagnostics, “The confocal microscope is a sophisticated imaging system at the heart of the UCLA researchers’ work and what ultimately led to the improvement in detection.” Tests with the new system on subjects known to have oral cancer and on healthy subjects have proved to be 95 percent accurate.
The main challenge now is to get the technique out of the laboratory and into your neighborhood dentist’s office.
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