Major advance in cancer diagnosis

A TEAM of scientists working at the STFC Daresbury Laboratory, near Warrington, has made a major advance in the development of a diagnostic test for an aggressive form of cancer.
The team, led by the University of Liverpool, believe the findings achieved using the ALICE accelerator facility at Daresbury, will lead to major improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of oesophageal cancer.
Oesophageal cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the world and around 8,000 people are diagnosed every year in the UK.
It is extremely difficult to diagnose and patients often present when the tumour is at an advanced stage, when surgical removal is no longer possible.
The aim of the research is to develop a diagnostic test by imaging tissue obtained by endoscopy from patients with a precursor condition called Barrett’s Oesophagus.
Patients with Barrett’s Oesophagus are more at risk of developing this form of cancer and are regularly monitored to detect changes in their condition. If precancerous changes are detected in these patients, they can undergo potentially curative treatment without the need for major surgery because the tumours have been detected at a much earlier stage.
By using a unique and extremely intense source of infrared light (the InfraRed Free Electron Laser) Professor Peter Weightman and his team have been able to image and carry out a blind study of historical endoscopic samples from patients with Barrett’s Oesophagus and, by detecting changes that took place in the samples, have developed a diagnostic test for the disease.
Professor Weightman said: “Early diagnosis is the most important factor for improving the prognosis for patients with oesophageal cancer. But it is extremely hard to diagnose accurately – a false negative test can be fatal, whereas a false positive means unnecessary major surgery.”
Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: “It’s incredibly impressive that the UK’s leading physics research can bring benefits for our health and wellbeing, as well as telling us more about the world around us.
“This work has the potential to save lives and revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of oesophageal cancer. It also demonstrates the value of the Government’s investment in the Daresbury Laboratory. I wish the researchers well in taking these findings through to clinical use.”
Project collaborator, Professor Mark Pritchard, consultant gastroenterologist at Royal Liverpool University Hospital said: “Unfortunately, many patients with oesophageal cancer have inoperable cancers by the time of presentation, and even when surgery is performed it can often be unsuccessful.
“There is a real, pressing clinical need to develop new technologies which can detect early changes that occur within individual cells prior to cancer development. Using ALICE, Professor Weightman has been able to detect such cellular changes. This technology may have similar applications in other types of cancer which have a well established pre-malignant stage.”
STFC’s Professor Susan Smith said: “It is fantastic news that, through ALICE, we now have an improved technology that could lead to significant advances in the treatment of cancer. With ALICE we have an opportunity to look at cancer cells in a way that has not been done before. It is particularly exciting that these experiments are now pointing towards an accurate diagnostic test that could change the lives of thousands of patients and we look forward to continuing to work with Professor Weightman as he takes this invaluable research to the next level.”
Pictured: Daresbury Laboratory