Unbelievable!!!
But, it is true .
Now. it is possible to screen for Breast cancer and Colon cancer using urine samples. A urine test is rather simple as compared to the routine screening methods such as Mammography,Endoscopy,Biopsy,and Blood tests. The Hitachi Technology Centre( Japan ), developed the basic technology in 2016 to assess the presence of certain ‘Bio markers’ -naturally occurring substances – by which a particular Cancer can be identified .The accuracy rate of detecting cancer is 95.8 percentage!!!
Further experiments, in collaboration with Nagoya University in Central Japan, will begin this month and will be over by September this year. “This technology may be put in clinical use by 2020” says Hitachi spokesman Chiharu Odariya.
If urine test for cancer detection is made available for clinical use it will be a “break-through” in medical science as it is non- invasive and easier for people to undergo
their cancer test without going to a hospital or lab .
The kit for collecting urine sample may hit the shelves by 2020 and people can do painless and effortless cancer screening at the privacy of their houses.
Early detection of cancer is paramount to successful treatment. Science is racing to develop faster and cheaper detection tools to save the lives and to reduce the medical and social cost.
This is very important for a country like India where majority of the people with cancer are being
diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Dr.C.N.MOHANAN NAIR,
CONSULTANT ONCOLOGIST,
KOCHI.