New blood test device detects deadly brain cancer within one hour: Report

A new blood test device allows a person to take a blood test for detection of a deadly brain cancer within one hour, known as Glioblastoma, as per Interesting Engineering.

The test kit, developed by researchers at the University of Notre Dame, requires only a small blood sample to diagnose indications of glioblastoma within one hour and is very easy to use. 

“Our technique is not specific to glioblastoma, but it was particularly appropriate to start with it because of how deadly it is and the lack of early screening tests available. Our hope is that if early detection is more feasible, then there is an increased chance of survival,” the publication quoted Hsueh-Chia Chang, the Bayer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Notre Dame and lead author of the study, as saying. 

Glioblastoma is a type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord. It grows quickly and can invade and destroy healthy tissue. Glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells. 

It affects 12,000 people per year in the United States, and was diagnosed in US Senator John McCain.

Glioblastoma, the brain cancer that killed President Joe Biden's son Beau Biden and longtime Arizona Senator John McCain, is fast-growing and hard to treat. Patients usually live 12 to 18 months after diagnosis. Despite decades of research, there are few options when it returns after surgery and radiation.

In light of this, the new blood test device could come in handy for detecting brain cancer at an early stage. 

The blood test is carried out through an automated device and  uses an electrokinetic sensor — roughly the size of a ball in a ballpoint pen, the publication said.