It is hoped this “worm-on-a-chip” could one day help doctors diagnose cancer non-invasively at an earlier stage.
Early diagnosis of cancer is critical for effective treatment, and methods that are quick, easy, economical and non-invasive are preferred.
Currently, doctors diagnose lung cancer by imaging tests or biopsies, but these methods often can’t detect tumours at their earliest stages.
Although dogs can be trained to sniff out human cancer, they aren’t practical to keep in labs. Nari Jang and Shin Sik Choi, researchers from Myongji University in South Korea, decided to grow worms called nematodes, which are around 1mm in length, in the lab and use their extraordinary sense of smell to develop a non-invasive cancer diagnostic test.
“Lung cancer cells produce a different set of odour molecules from normal cells,” Choi said. “It’s well known that the soil-dwelling nematode, C. elegans, is attracted or repelled by certain odours, so we came up with an...