Urine test for lung cancer ‘could be ready for NHS use in five years’

A simple urine test for lung cancer could be available for NHS use in as little as five years, according to experts.

The majority of cases of lung cancer in England are diagnosed at later stages, meaning the disease can be harder to treat.

But the new urine test can indicate the first possible signs of the disease, which could potentially mean cancer could be caught earlier and allow patients to get treatments sooner.

Scientists funded by Cancer Research UK have now passed another hurdle, bringing the test closer to patient use.

While more research is still needed in the field, the test could one day be used in GP surgeries and hospitals to catch lung cancer much earlier.

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Professor Ljiljana Fruk, from the University of Cambridge, said she hopes to see the test “working in real patients and rolled out across the NHS within the next five years, making a real difference to people at risk of this devastating disease”.

The pioneering test looks for so-called “zombie” cell proteins which could indicate a patient has lung cancer in its earliest stages – meaning the disease could be detected months or even years before symptoms appear.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and the Early Cancer Institute, along with the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Thoracic Cancer Programme and in collaboration with Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, looked at proteins excreted by senescent cells.

These cells are often referred to as “zombie cells” because they are alive in the body but are unable to grow and divide.

The cells cause tissue damage by reprogramming their immediate environment to help promote the emergence of cancer cells.

Now, scientists have developed a sensor that is injected which interacts with zombie cell proteins and releases an easily detectable compound into urine, which signals their presence.

And researchers found the urine sensor may also work for detecting other lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis.

Cancer Research UK’s spokesman for the east of England, Patrick Keely, said: “With new technologies opening doors to new discoveries, we’re living in a golden age of research, which is powerfully underlined by this innovative new urine test to detect early lung cancer.”