健康英语新闻:U.S. researchers detect early lung cancer through gene expression changes in nasal cells

"Microarrays allow us to get a detailed portrait of the expression levels of a large number of genes simultaneously, with our goal being to then sort through all these expression levels to find genes that differ in their expression between patients with lung cancer and those with benign disease," Anderlind said.

"Our data suggests that evaluating gene expression changes in nasal cells found in the interior surface of the nose may serve as a non-invasive approach for the early detection of lung cancer in smokers," she said.

The study will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2011 International Conference in Denver next week, according to the AAAS.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality, with an average five-year survival rate of only 15 percent. However, survival rates are highly dependent upon how advanced the cancer is when detected.

"At an early stage, the five-year survival rate is 60 percent compared to only 2 percent at a late stage," Anderlind noted. " Despite this fact, early diagnosis is hard to achieve since the diagnostic tests currently available are highly invasive, such as open lung biopsy. We wanted to determine if a minimally invasive site like the nose could be used to diagnose cancer in its early stages, when there is a much greater chance of long-term survival. "

Anderlind said the results of the current study are an initial indication that simple nasal brushings could offer an alternative to lung biopsy and other invasive techniques aimed at identifying lung cancer in its early stages.

"This study is a pilot study and our results are preliminary," she said. "Although we did have some indication based on previous studies that we might find gene expression changes in nasal cells, it was unexpected that normal-looking airway cells located at a distance from the lungs would show a specific gene signature that distinguishes patients with cancer from those with benign disease, " she said.

"The development of a nasal biomarker for diagnosis of lung cancer would make early diagnosis of lung cancer more feasible, allowing patients with radiographic findings that are suspicious for lung cancer to be evaluated in the clinic with nose brushings, " Anderlind said.

The researchers are planning to analyze at least 100 more samples from patients with benign disease and lung cancer, to be able to validate the results and to work toward the development of a nasal biomarker for early detection of lung cancer, said Anderlind.