Tests detect cancer through urine

The cancer screening kit, based on the ability of a nematode to smell cancer cells in urine, costs $ 90.

Takaaki Hirotsu, President of Hirotsu Bio Science, Tokyo, said on December 17 that the kit will be used for the first time in January in Japan. Many hospitals and clinics require a test kit, Takaaki said.

The nematode worms can smell and detect early-stage cancer cells with an 85% accuracy.

Earlier, the company conducted clinical experiments with patients with 9 different types of cancer, including breast, lung, stomach, colon and pancreatic cancer. As a result, with just one drop of urine, the nematode can smell and detect early-stage cancer cells with an 85% accuracy.

With the test kit, patients who do not need a biopsy or have blood drawn can still know if they have the disease. However, this test does not identify the type of cancer.

According to New Scientist , a Japanese team of researchers has been investigating the cancer-smelling ability of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in 2015, after discovering a larva clinging to cancerous tumors in a patient's stomach 63 year old. A few similar cases of parasitic roundworm larvae near cancer cells have also been reported.

In experiments, the nematode larvae were placed in a dish containing cultured cancer cells and normal cells. As a result, the larvae move towards the cancer cells. 96% of the time worm larvae also move towards cancer cells when released into the urine containing cancer and normal cells.

Some animals have also been shown to detect changes in the body of cancer patients by hearing. Many dogs have been trained to detect cancer by smelling the patient's urine, feces and breath.

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