20 Minute Oral Cancer Testing To Be Developed

A new test for oral cancer that produces results within 20 minutes is to be developed.
A research team including scientists from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has been awarded $2 million from the USA’s National Institute of Health to develop the test.
The test will involve removing cells with a brush, placing them on a chip and inserting the chip into an analyser. This test will have a number of benefits including cutting waiting times and number of visits as well as cost savings to the NHS. If the trial confirms it is effective as carrying out a biopsy then it could become a regular application at dental surgeries in the future. Ultimately dentists and doctors may be able to use this technology to check suspicious lesions in the mouth and reassure the vast majority of patients that they haven’t got cancer, with having to even send them to the hospital.