Oral cancer tests to be researched
The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, along with the University of Sheffield, are about to begin research into a new test which would allow dentists to quickly and easily detect oral cancer.
The research into the test, which would involve simple brushing to collect cells from inside a patients mouth, is being conducted by a group of international scientists based in Sheffield and has recently received two-million dollars from the National Institutes of Health in the United Sates for further development. The test would replace the current method, which involves using a scalpel and lengthy lab assessments, with a procedure taking around twenty minutes.
Professor Martin Thornhill explained the new procedure; ‘With the new technology, a brush would be used to painlessly remove a few cells from the lining of the mouth that would be analysed within minutes of the presence of the patient, so that the patient would know the result before leaving the clinic.’
If the new procedure is successful it will eliminate long waiting times and would save on NHS costs.
The new test will also allow for oral cancer to be caught more quickly, potentially increasing survival rates of oral cancer from 50% to 90%. Martin Thornhill, the team leader in Sheffield, declared that the new technology would ‘significantly increase the ability to detect oral cancer in the future.’
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