A U.S. patent was awarded to Kansas State University Research Foundation www.k-state.edu/tech.transfer for technology able to detect the early stages of cancer before physical symptoms appear. The patent is titled “Fluorescence Assays for Serine Porteases”.
The technology is coated with amino acids and a fluorescent dye. The amino acids and dye interact with enzymes in a blood sample and make it possible to diagnose a cancer type even if a patient is not showing physical symptoms associated with cancer.
A sample of a patient’s blood is converted into a blood serum. The serum is used to perform tests with enzymes mainly proteases that are in the bloodstream. They are expressed at different levels in cancer patients and in healthy adults.
Each enzyme is analyzed and compared to the enzyme pattern of different tumor types. Each type of cancer has a unique protease signature, similar to a genetic fingerprint registered in a database.
Stefan H. Bossmann PhD, Professor of Chemistry and one of the researchers developing the technology said, “Since we are able to detect virtually all solid tumors at Stage 1 during routine blood testing, this cost-effective technology used with already established cancer technologies has the potential to save half of the lives of individuals diagnosed with cancer during the next decade.”
Dr Bossmann and Deryl L. Troyer, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, and a member of the research team, are currently collaborating with China’s First Affiliated Hospital of Kumming Medical University on conducting double-blind cancer detection tests.
Protease measurements of more than 10,000 patients at Kumming Medical University have shown that many types of cancers feature unique protease signatures which permit their identification in early stages. If the researchers detection test achieves a high accuracy rate, then it will likely become a viable medical test for physicians in the U.S and worldwide.
The researchers received funding to develop the test through the National Science Foundation (NSF) www.nsf.gov, NIH’s Phase II SBIR program www.nih.gov, the Johnson Cancer Research Center at KSU http://cancer.k-state.edu, and the Kansas Department of Commerce www.kansascommerce.com .
The patent is currently available to license through the KSU Institute for Commercialization www.k-state.edu/ic by calling 785-532-3900 or by email at ic@k-state.edu.