Effective over-the-counter prostate cancer test kit likely in next...(rected to see a doctor. Think of it...),Health

"Think of it like a pregnancy test," Huo said. "It's the same principle. Women use it to find out if they are pregnant, but once they see the results at home, they go to the doctor to be sure."

The cancer-related protein marker that the gold nanoparticles seek out in Huo's research is the same one screened for by the FDA-approved Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. The PSA has a good track record as a protein marker for detecting prostate cancer and has been used by physicians for years. Huo said her new technique is much more sensitive and accurate than the PSA and all current techniques used in diagnostic labs.

"What's different is the technology," Huo said. "It's very simple. The dynamic light-scattering technique is highly sensitive and can pick up even the smallest trace amount of protein markers."

That's why the technique also can help doctors track any resurgence of cancer once a surgery is performed to remove it.

Dr. Baker, director of M.D. Anderson-Orlando's Cancer Research Institute, collaborates with Huo by offering her expertise in cancer research and by providing human blood and serum samples to test Huo's technique.

"The excitement for us here at M. D. Anderson-Orlando is that we can easily test the validity of the technique in our cancer research program and then on our own patients in a clinical trial," Baker said. "We are optimistic that we can begin clinical trials with this test within the next two years."

Huo said that the technique is still years from commercialization, but that in three to five years an over-the-counter test kit for prostate cancer is likely. The technique also can be easily adapted to test for many different types of cancer Huo plans to focus first on ovarian and breast cancer.

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