History at a glance
- A team of researchers has developed a contact lens that can collect tear samples from the eye.
- In the lab, the lens found compounds that could indicate the presence of cancer.
- The discovery could help lead to early detection, which is vital to fighting cancer.
A team of researchers may have found a way to detect cancer with two special contact lenses – a medical breakthrough that could help with early detection.
In 2019, more than 1.7 million new cancer cases were reported in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 600,000 people died of cancer that same year. Early detection can help patients get the treatment they need before the cancer progresses to a more serious stage – and this may soon come with contact lenses.
In a paper published in Advanced Functional Materials, scientists describe how they made a contact lens in micro-chambers that collect tears and other fluids. The samples are analyzed for exosomes, which are secreted by cells that are indicators of diseases such as cancer. If exosomes are present, they will bind to specific antibodies embedded in the contact lens and turn the spot red.
The team tested the lens in various liquid solutions, including cell cultures and human tears. They discovered that the lenses could detect a series of exosomes. The technology also identifies exosome surface proteins that are thought to be cancer biomarkers.
Exosomes can be found throughout the body, but other common tests, such as blood and saliva tests, can contain components that complicate detection. Other areas of cancer research focus on exosomes found in blood samples, which may not be necessary to study exosomes in tears.
This high-tech communication lens may be the easiest way to search for exosomes related to cancer and other diseases. It has the potential to be faster and less invasive for patients.
“This is very interesting compared to other current techniques in this field,” said study author Yangzi Zhou, a biomedical engineer at Terasaki Biomedical Innovation Invest.
