Oral Cancer Trial Sends Sheffield to the Top of Research League Table
A trial to develop a test, which could enable dentists to detect oral cancer in just 20 minutes, has lifted Sheffield to the top of a national league table for research.
The ‘lab on a chip’ trial, which is being overseen by Professor Martin Thornhill, from the University of Sheffield, has catapulted Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sheffield to the top of the league table, which is compiled by the National Institute for Health Research.
Professor Thornhill and the Sheffield team have teamed up with researchers from Rice University in America to develop a chair-side test, which can cut the diagnostic time for oral cancer from three weeks to just 20 minutes. Currently, dentists take biopsy samples from patients, which are then sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results can take between 2 and 3 weeks to come back, leaving patients with an anxious wait. The lab on a chip method involves dentists taking cells from the patient’s mouth and inserting the chip into an analysing machine, which will then reveal the result within minutes.
The trial is currently underway in Sheffield and Professor Thornhill said that he was delighted that so many people had come forward and volunteered to participate. He added that the trial was very exciting and could hopefully save thousands of lives in the future.
If the trial is successful, the lab on a chip test could be widely used in the UK within the next five years.
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