科学家开发出1美元前列腺癌筛查技术，或明显优于PSA检测技术

  近日，来自美国中佛罗里达大学(University of Central Florida)的研究人员开发了一种简单的检测手段，其花费小于1美元，而且可以在几分钟内得出结果；这种新型检测手段在进行前列腺癌的检测上要远远优于当前的前列腺特异抗原(Prostate Specific Antigen，PSA)检测。研究者表示，这种新型检测手段可以减少很多不必要的侵入性检查，而且可以非常有效地帮助临床医生进行有效地检测。
  当癌症组织开始发展后，机体就会被动员起来产生抗体，这种新型检测手段可以利用比斑点小10000倍的纳米颗粒来检测机体的免疫反应；当来自手指血液的血清同纳米鳄梨混合后，特定的癌症生物标志物就会粘附在纳米颗粒的表面，从而增加纳米颗粒的尺寸，使其不断积累起来。
  尽管这种新技术使用了金纳米颗粒，但其依然非常便宜，一小瓶纳米粒子混悬液花费250美元，但其可以进行2500个测试。继肺癌之后前列腺癌成为引发男性死亡的第二大杀手，每年有超过24万人被诊断为前列腺癌，有2.8万人死于该病；针对前列腺癌常见的筛查方法就是进行PSA检测，但其常常会产生假阳性，引发患者不必要的活检及疗法花费。
  这种检测手段的可信度为90%至95%，当结果出现假阴性时可信度也在50%左右，而且其准确性明显要高于PSA检测；最后研究者Huo说道，如果可能的话我们想开发出一种针对不同癌症的通用检测手段，我们的目标就是开发一系列针对不同癌症的早期血液检测手段，从而为后期进行新型疗法的开发以及癌症的临床指导提供帮助和希望。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）
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A test that costs less than a $1 and yields results in minutes has been shown in newly published studies to be more sensitive and more exact than the current standard test for early-stage prostate cancer.

The simple test developed by University of Central Florida scientist Qun "Treen" Huo holds the promise of earlier detection of one of the deadliest cancers among men. It would also reduce the number of unnecessary and invasive biopsies stemming from the less precise PSA test that's now used.

"It's fantastic," said Dr. Inoel Rivera, a urologic oncologist at Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, which collaborated with Huo on the recent pilot studies. "It's a simple test. It's much better than the test we have right now, which is the PSA, and it's cost-effective."

When a cancerous tumor begins to develop, the body mobilizes to produce antibodies. Huo's test detects that immune response using gold nanoparticles about 10,000 times smaller than a freckle.

When a few drops of blood serum from a finger prick are mixed with the gold nanoparticles, certain cancer biomarkers cling to the surface of the tiny particles, increasing their size and causing them to clump together.

Among researchers, gold nanoparticles are known for their extraordinary efficiency at absorbing and scattering light. Huo and her team at UCF's NanoScience Technology Center developed a technique known as nanoparticle-enabled dynamic light scattering assay (NanoDLSay) to measure the size of the particles by analyzing the light they throw off. That size reveals whether a patient has prostate cancer and how advanced it may be.

And although it uses gold, the test is cheap. A small bottle of nanoparticles suspended in water costs about $250, and contains enough for about 2,500 tests.

"What's different and unique about our technique is it's a very simple process, and the material required for the test is less than $1," Huo said. "And because it's low-cost, we're hoping most people can have this test in their doctor's office. If we can catch this cancer in its early stages, the impact is going to be big."

After lung cancer, prostate cancer is the second-leading killer cancer among men, with more than 240,000 new diagnoses and 28,000 deaths every year. The most commonly used screening tool is the PSA, but it produces so many false-positive results - leading to painful biopsies and extreme treatments - that one of its discoverers recently called it "hardly more effective than a coin toss."

Pilot studies found Huo's technique is significantly more exact. The test determines with 90 to 95 percent confidence that the result is not false-positive. When it comes to false-negatives, there is 50 percent confidence - not ideal, but still significantly higher than the PSA's 20 percent - and Huo is working to improve that number......