A simple, rapid and cost-effective colorimetric biosensor was developed for sensitive and selective detection of cancer-derived exosomes in small volume liquid biopsies. A new marker, A, was validated as a promising exosomal biomarker for PC warranting further testing. Quantitatively pinpointing exosome tumour markers, a clinical field of an unmet need is appealing, yet challenging and requires an attention from health care specialists. The proposed research offers an essentially needed universal platform technology for clinical cancer diagnosis through rapidly and quantitatively monitoring the protein marker of cancer-derived exosomes, in a simple way.
The impact of this work would be remarkable. From basic research to application study, not only will this study contribute to frontier fundamental research of exosomes and cancers, but this robust but simple colorimetric method would also enable feasible application of rapid, reliable, and non-invasive POCT diagnosis of pancreatic cancer at early stages as a routine procedure, thus facilitating possible curative surgical therapy. This simple diagnostic tool will also lead to a new class of rapid and portable testing device, as an alternative to conventional large-sized instruments in clinical laboratories for prognostic applications. The patent application is ongoing in UK at this moment. The outcome of this study would probably end up in a startup company focusing on cancer early diagnosis with innovative technologies. The products, therefore, would be available to GP, end customers in every family, etc. for the rapid screening of cancers, which will largely benefit the society and the economy.
