Scientists have developed the world’s first early detection test for pancreatic cancer, which uses worms to detect tumors.
According to its creators, the test – rolled out this month in Japan – is 100% accurate at detecting cancer and can detect it in its early stages.
Tokyo-based biotech company Hirotsu Bio Science hopes to bring the test to the United States by next year.
Users send a urine sample to a lab by post, which is added to a petri dish filled with dozens of worms called nematodes, which are about a millimeter long.
They are known for their strong sense of smell, which they use in the wild to seek out their prey.
A urine sample is added to a Petri dish with dozens of tiny worms, which have been genetically engineered to swim away from traces of pancreatic cancer
The survival rate for pancreatic cancer declines rapidly as time passes since the initial diagnosis. The general five-year survival rate in America is 11%, according to Cancer.net
This makes the millimeter-long animals a powerful diagnostic tool, says the company’s founder and chief executive, Takaaki Hirotsu, who has studied them for 28 years.
Hirotsu genetically modified the worms to steer clear of pancreatic cancer samples.
Studies of the test have shown it to be more effective at detecting cancerous bladder tumors than other widely used detection methods, such as blood tests.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types because it’s hard to catch early due to a lack of symptoms, and by the time it’s caught, it’s usually too late.
About 50,000 Americans die each year from pancreatic cancer, and only one in 10 people survives five years after a diagnosis.
Due to the way it is sold directly to patients, the test would not need FDA approval to be available in the United States.
Hirotsu said: “What is very important with the early detection of cancer and these types of diseases is being able to detect very small quantities.
“And when it comes to that, I think machines don’t stand a chance against the abilities of living organisms.”
Hirotsu Bio launched its first N-NOSE test in January 2020, which claimed to tell if users were at high risk for cancer.
About a quarter of a million people took the test, five to six percent of whom received high-risk readings.
The pancreas test kits are sold directly to consumers, rather than to a medical professional referring patients for the test, and cost $505.
Hirotsu initially focused on pancreatic cancer, as it is difficult to diagnose and progresses very quickly.
There is also no single diagnostic test to determine if a person has pancreatic cancer.
The company plans to roll out similar tests for liver, cervical and breast cancer over the next few years.
But some doctors are skeptical of the results and the consumer-centric approach.
Masahiro Kami, the head of the Medical Governance Research Institute think tank in Tokyo, warned that false positives could far exceed the number of actual cases of pancreatic cancer, rendering the results “unusable”.
Hirotsu argued that the test’s accuracy is competitive with other diagnostic tools and is intended as an early verification method so patients can access other tests and treatments without delay.
Hirotsu Bio Science CTO Eric Di Luccio examines nematodes in a petri dish at the company’s laboratory in Fujisawa, Japan
TV ads using caricatures of the worms and pancreas are being used in Japan to whip up testing and will help the company build its brand, Mr Hirotsu said.
If the business can scale, the high price of the test could come down over time, he added.
When asked if he particularly likes worms, Mr Hirotsu said: “I feel like I have to say that I like nematodes and find them cute, but that’s not the case at all. .”
“Really, I just consider them research material and nothing more.”
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