Dr. Yinfa Ma, Curators' Teaching Professor of chemistry at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MUST), in collaboration with Dr. Clay M. Anderson, director of clinical services at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia, Missouri, developed the non-invasive instrument for pre-cancer screening called P-scan.
The P-scan only detects cancer in the body and can predict the cancer's type and severity using a group of biomarkers. The instrument scans for pteridines, compounds found within the body that serve as important cofactors to regulate the metabolism of cells.
Based on Ma and Fischel's research, six pteridine derivatives can be detected in urine samples. A significant increase in the level of some pteridines indicates there is a tumor inside the body.
The P-scan also detects oncopterin, a molecule present only in the urine of cancer patients and not in healthy human subjects.
By detecting oncopterin, the instrument helps determine whether cancer is going to develop. By also detecting varying levels of the six pteridines, P-scan can establish the type of cancer.
According to Ma, he wants to the P-scan to become a standard cancer screening method in clinical laboratories to save people's lives.
