Japanese researchers at Nagoya University have developed a promising urine-based test using microRNAs as biomarkers for early brain tumor diagnosis. Findings are published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Brain tumor diagnosis typically relies on CT scans or MRIs, but these are performed only after neurological symptoms like limb immobility or speech difficulties emerge. By then, tumors are often too advanced for complete removal, lowering patient survival rates. Nagoya University researchers have created an innovative test to enable earlier detection.
Urine and blood tests have shown potential for non-invasive cancer detection before symptoms appear by analyzing disease-specific biomarkers. This approach has succeeded for bladder, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
However, early detection for central nervous system (CNS) tumors has been elusive. The blood-brain barrier limits biomarker exchange in blood tests, while urine-based methods lacked effective extraction techniques.
The Nagoya team targeted microRNAs—stable, small nucleic acids secreted by cells and detectable in urine. “Urine-based liquid biopsy for brain tumors was underexplored because conventional methods couldn't extract microRNAs effectively,” says Prof. Atsushi Natsume. “We developed a device to address this.”
Their device features 100 million zinc oxide nanowires that extract a wider variety and higher quantity of microRNAs from just 1 mL of urine than traditional methods. These nanowires are sterilizable and suitable for mass production.
Testing microRNA expression in urine from brain tumor patients and healthy controls, the team achieved a diagnostic model with 100% sensitivity and 97% specificity—effective across tumor types, regardless of malignancy or size.
Further validation is needed, but this technique holds strong potential for early detection of aggressive brain cancers like glioblastoma and possibly other malignancies.
