[Health] Stanford scientists invent a magnet that detects tumor cells

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Stanford University scientists say they've developed a magnetized wire that can grab tumor cells from the bloodstream with "the same force that holds family photos to your refrigerator."

 

The wire is threaded into a vein where it attracts tumor cells that may be roving the bloodstream. The researchers say the technique attracts between 10 and 80 more tumor cells than current cancer detection methods, meaning the wire could help catch the disease earlier.

 

The utility of the magnet could far surpass cancer detection, said lead study author Sanjiv Gambhir, Stanford chair of radiology and director of the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, in a press release.

 

"It could be useful in any other disease in which there are cells or molecules of interest in the blood," he added, including bacterial infections and inflammation-causing conditions.

 

Gambhir and his co-authors published their findings Monday in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

 

Tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream serve as cancer biomarkers, but the cells are often scarce and therefore difficult to detect via blood draw.

 

According to Gambhir, doctors could easily conclude "nothing's there" after administering a regular blood test.

 

The wire, about as thick as a paperclip and long as a pinky finger, works by glomming onto tumor cells that have been magnetized by nanoparticles. When the charged cell passes the wire, it holds onto it and can then be removed from the bloodstream for analysis.

 

"We estimate that it would take about 80 tubes of blood to match what the wire is able to sample in 20 minutes," Gambhir said.

 

Scientists have only tested the technique on pigs as they await approval from the Food and Drug Administration for human trials.

 

From there, the wire's other utilities might be tested, including the possibility that it could treat cancer or prevent its spread.

 

"If we can get this thing to be really good at sucking up cancer cells, you might consider an application where you leave the wire in longer term," Gambhir said. "That way it almost acts like a filter that grabs the cancer cells and prevents them from spreading to other parts of the body."

 

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