Thai students make cancer diagnosis easier with new invention

SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

A team of young scientists from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School have come up with a novel way of detecting cancer and will be presenting their innovation at the world’s largest science fair, “Regeneron ISEF 2023”, next month.

The school’s principal, Dr Worawarong Rakreungdet, said the new cancer detection system involved the circulation of tumour DNA on the surface of red blood cells, and the team had used chicken blood in the experiment. The system was devised by winners of the National Young Scientist Competition this year, who also received an audience with HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on March 28.

The young scientists will be representing Thailand at the Regeneron ISEF 2023 fair to be held in Dallas, Texas, from May 13 to 19.

Thai students make cancer diagnosis easier with new invention

“The team who developed this project comprises three Mahidol Wittayanusorn School students, namely Wongsakon Malalaksamee (Captain), Matina Boontem (Petch) and Chutinun Sukpongjirakul (Kaimook),” said Worawarong. “The team was also under the guidance of two project research advisors specializing in the field of research projects, namely Kiattipoom Rodpun (Prime Minister's Science Teacher Award 2020 and ‘The National People Award for Youth and Children 2022’) and Peti Thuwajit (Medical DMSc Award of the year 2022) from the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University,” added the principal.

Warawanong highlighted that the project has won the national award of the YSC this year, having passed the screening of as many as 1,621 projects submitted from all over the country. The project underwent rigorous processes during the competition before being selected among the quality projects by the committee. Attempting to solve the inevitability of sickness and diseases, the students hoped that the fruits of their endeavour would bring great benefits to society at large, particularly for a pressing issue like cancer. A new method that is faster than conventional means will be able to save more lives than before.

Thai students make cancer diagnosis easier with new invention

The three students studied and did in-depth research on cancer and found that cancer patients carry with them cancer DNAs in their bloodstream. Currently, a blood test yields faster results than a biopsy, but the former is based on cancer DNAs in plasma, whose strong concentration in the blood means a relatively low concentration of cancer DNAs. This is especially true for cancer in its early stages where detection may fail. Since red blood cells, the primary components of blood, are micron-size particles and not fluid-like plasma, they provide us with a new means of cancer detection. If it can be proven that cancer DNAs remain on red blood cells, detecting them can be done more efficiently than relying on plasma testing. Upon further research, the surface of red blood cells contains receptors with the ability to bind to nucleic acid substances, including DNAs. 

However, taking into account experimental safety, ethical consideration and the epidemic-mitigation measures in place at the time, chicken blood, a simple by-product from consumption, has been chosen as the base for the study. The decision was made on the fact that chickens have receptors with similar properties on their red blood cells. Using two types of breast cancer cells, the test was designed to explore whether cancer DNAs would bind to the receptors. As for the detection method, two techniques were employed. The first was DNA Hybridization, a DNA probing technique illustrating with colour signals. Cross-linking, the second technique, induces a tighter bond between the cancer DNAs and the receptors by using formaldehyde as a crosslinker. By examining the gene ratio via real-time PCR, the result revealed that cancer DNAs do bind to receptors on red blood cells.

“The concept for this project has received attention and the support of the research team of Peti Thuwajit from the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University. A favourable result could warrant further experimental development using human blood samples. Eventually, both the test experimenting with chicken blood and one using human blood yielded an approving result,” said Worawarong.

Serving as the primary advisor throughout the project, Peti Thuwajit stated that the project was a big step forward in the field of medical biochemistry and will greatly benefit the public health community. This new technique not only has superior sensitivity but also inflicts less pain compared to a biopsy. Ultimately, this DNA test can initiate a more efficient cancer screening process, particularly in cases where cancerous lumps are not yet present for observation.