Scientists develop cancer-collecting implant

Scientists in the United States are developing a device that can collect cancer cells as they move through the body

The implant, which is about five millimetres in diameter and made from a biomaterial approved for use in medical devices, could potentially offer an early warning sign to doctors and has already shown success in mice with breast cancer.

Scientists from different US universities collaborated and implanted the device in either abdominal fat or under the skin of the mice.

They found that it attracted cancer cells that had already started to metastasize and stopped cells from infiltrating other areas where new tumours could grow.

To collect the cells the implant mimics a process where cells that break loose from a tumour are attracted to other areas of the body by immune cells.

These immune cells attach to the implant and draws the cancer cells in, the BBC reports.

The scientists labelled the cancer cells so they were easily recognisable. Then they used a special imaging technique to distinguish between cancerous and normal cells and discovered that they could pinpoint cancer cells caught in the device.

The team is planning to test its implant in humans, shooting for the first clinical trials in humans fairly soon, study leader Professor Lonnie Shea from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, told the BBC.

The scientists will also continue to study the device in animals to see what happens to overall outcomes if the spread of cancer was detected very early-on, he added.

Shea told the BBC: "We need to see if metastatic cells will show up in the implant in humans like they did in the mice, and also if it's a safe procedure and that we can use the same imaging to detect cancer cells."

The team published their findings in Nature Communications.