A teenager made cancer diagnosis ten times cheaper

A teenager from the USA developed the method of pancreatic cancer diagnosis at early stages of the development of neoplastic process. 15 year old Jack Andrak became the winner of the competition of scientific achievements among schoolchildren Intel ISEF.

The schoolboy developed test strips similar to those, used for glucometers, and a simple detector. The device determines the presence of mesothelin protein, secretable by malignant cells mesothelioma, as well as of pancreatic and ovarian adenocarcinoma. Both blood and urine may be used as a test material.

The tests showed that the accuracy of the diagnostic method exceeds 90%. The new method turned out to be more sensitive than the tests used nowadays. Besides, the duration and price of the diagnosis of malignant tumors reduced by a factor of tens.

For his development Andrak was awarded Gordon Moore’s prize of $75000.

Nowadays the American schoolboy is getting the patent for his development. Andrak says that the representatives of two biotechnological companies have already contacted him, being interested in a new diagnostic method.

Source: MedPortal