Scientists from three universities have developed a non-invasive diagnostic tool that combines the functions of virtual biopsy and molecular imaging to significantly improve clinical diagnosis of skin diseases, researchers said on Thursday.
Experiments conducted on laboratory animals using the new tool have been successful and results show the tool can effectively detect indications of oral cancer in hamsters, team members said, adding that they were looking forward to conducting human testing.
The team — led by Shieh Dar-bin (謝達斌) of National Cheng-Kung University, Sun Chi-kuang (孫啟光) of National Taiwan University and Lin Kuan-jiuh (林寬鋸) of National Chung-Hsing University — has presented its findings in the journals Optics Express and Advanced Materials.
Shieh, an oral surgeon, said that it was very difficult to determine if a patient has oral cancer.
With the help of the new tool, surgeons can more easily locate a cancer nidus without invasive measures, Shieh said.
In related news, researchers at the National Health Research Institute said on Thursday that the Taiwanese subproject of a phase two clinical test for cancer drug ADI-PEG 20 has been successful and that following phase three clinical testing, the drug should be on the market some time next year.
They said ADI-PEG 20 is a protein drug that can break down the arginine in human blood to inhibit the development of cancer cells.
Arginine, an alpha-amino acid, plays a vital role in cell division, wound healing, ammonia removal, immune functions and the release of hormones.
Once the arginine in blood is removed, cancer cells will lose their most important source of nutrition, leading to their death. Normal cells will survive arginine deprivation because they can synthesize arginine within themselves, the scientists said.
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