AGL 40.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 130.99 Increased By ▲ 1.46 (1.13%)
BOP 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (4.04%)
CNERGY 4.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.65%)
DCL 8.95 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.11%)
DFML 42.84 Increased By ▲ 1.15 (2.76%)
DGKC 84.00 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.27%)
FCCL 32.90 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.4%)
FFBL 78.52 Increased By ▲ 3.05 (4.04%)
FFL 12.23 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (6.63%)
HUBC 110.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-0.32%)
HUMNL 14.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.48%)
KEL 5.60 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (3.9%)
KOSM 8.47 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.83%)
MLCF 39.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.85%)
NBP 64.87 Increased By ▲ 4.58 (7.6%)
OGDC 201.00 Increased By ▲ 1.34 (0.67%)
PAEL 26.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.56%)
PIBTL 7.77 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.44%)
PPL 161.00 Increased By ▲ 3.08 (1.95%)
PRL 26.52 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.79%)
PTC 18.58 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (0.65%)
SEARL 82.61 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.21%)
TELE 8.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.08%)
TOMCL 34.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.09%)
TPLP 9.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.11%)
TREET 17.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-2.69%)
TRG 60.24 Decreased By ▼ -1.08 (-1.76%)
UNITY 27.57 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.51%)
WTL 1.40 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.45%)
BR100 10,693 Increased By 286.5 (2.75%)
BR30 32,041 Increased By 327.8 (1.03%)
KSE100 99,369 Increased By 2040.4 (2.1%)
KSE30 30,990 Increased By 798 (2.64%)

A Japanese firm is poised to carry out what it hailed as the world's first experiment to test for cancer using urine samples, which would greatly facilitate screening for the deadly disease. Engineering and IT conglomerate Hitachi developed the basic technology to detect breast or colon cancer from urine samples two years ago.
It will now begin testing the method using some 250 urine samples, to see if samples at room temperature are suitable for analysis, Hitachi spokesman Chiharu Odaira told AFP. "If this method is put to practical use, it will be a lot easier for people to get a cancer test, as there will be no need to go to a medical organisation for a blood test," he said.
It is also intended to be used to detect paediatric cancers. "That will be especially beneficial in testing for small children" who are often afraid of needles, added Odaira.
Research published earlier this year demonstrated that a new blood test has shown promise towards detecting eight different kinds of tumours before they spread elsewhere in the body. Usual diagnostic methods for breast cancer consist of a mammogram followed by a biopsy if a risk is detected.
For colon cancer, screening is generally conducted via a stool test and a colonoscopy for patients at high risk. The Hitachi technology centres around detecting waste materials inside urine samples that act as a "biomarker" - a naturally occurring substance by which a particular disease can be identified, the company said in a statement.
The procedure aims to improve the early detection of cancer, saving lives and reducing the medical and social cost to the country, Odaira explained. The experiment will start this month until through September in cooperation with Nagoya University in central Japan.
"We aim to put the technology in use in the 2020s, although this depends on various things such as getting approval from the authorities," Odaira said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.