Research validates new technique to detect ovarian cancer

A novel technique could be effective at detecting specific biomarkers that are present in the urine of ovarian cancer patients, a new study has found.

The research, conducted by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, could one day play a role in helping doctors more accurately diagnose ovarian cancer.

Mass spectrometry, a technique used to identify and quantify a wide range of clinically relevant chemical substances, has previously identified thousands of peptides that are present in the urine of ovarian cancer patients.

These peptides could serve as biomarkers for ovarian cancer. However, mass spectrometry is not readily available for clinical applications and alternative techniques are needed to detect these peptides.

In their paper, the researchers described using gold nanoparticles, in conjunction with nanopore sensing, to detect and characterise 13 of the previously identified peptides. They included peptides from LRG-1, an increasingly sought-after protein biomarker that is commonly present in the urine of ovarian cancer patients.

“Beating cancer relies on early and accurate diagnosis. In fact, clinical data shows a 50-75 per cent improvement in five-year survival when cancers are detected at their earliest stage,” said Joseph Reiner, professor and chair of the department of physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences and the study’s lead author.

“This is true across numerous cancer types. We are interested in ovarian cancer because it is particularly difficult to detect and requires the development of new sensors that could be made widely available for clinical applications.”

The paper describes a technique that could be applied toward detection of numerous peptides simultaneously.

The hope is that this “broad spectrum” approach, in conjunction with other relevant information, could someday provide a more accurate picture of whether or not ovarian cancer is present at an early stage.

Reiner said: “We envision that our approach could expand beyond ovarian cancer to other types of cancer.”