Maharashtra experts develop nanorobot for early cancer detection

Nanorobot technology might soon be Indias new cancer weapon A team of experts from the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research MIMER Pune developed nanorobotbased liquid biopsies that are programmed for early detection of metastases cancer cells by isolating and detecting circulating tumour cells in any human bloodMetastases is the most common cause of cancerrelated death in patients with solid tumours and the use of nanorobotic technology would bring a change in the ageold traditional practice of conducting biopsy for histopathology tests to confirm if the lump is cancerous or not This new technology is not only presumed to be costeffective but also painfree and is expected to lead to a new rapid and accurate diagnostic method for cancer in futureThe research has been funded Rs 55 lakhs by the Department of Science and Technology DST Government of India and is headed by Dr Shashwat Banerjee 44 who heads the Central Research Laboratory at MIMER Pune and has been working on this project for the past five years He has also filed for patenting the researchIt is noninvasive preciseldquoCurrently invasive biopsy and its subsequent genetic and proteomic analysis are painful expensive and difficult to interpret On the other hand liquid biopsy has several benefits such as it is noninvasive rapid precise and especially realtimerdquo said Dr Shashwat ldquoIn search of a better cancer diagnostic we at MIMER have indigenously designed and developed for the first time smart nanorobots for detection of early metastases The technology requires no more than 5 ml of human blood Further the test can be completed in about a few hours using the nanorobotic technologyrdquo he saidldquoThe developed nanorobot uses chemical energy to perform mechanical work such as autonomous motion The chemically powered nanorobot uses water as fuel This new nanorobot based diagnostic tool may help in improving cancer treatments allow for better treatment control enable early interventions and change decision making from reactive actions toward more predictive early interventionsrdquo said Dr Shashwat Interestingly the research findings have been recently accepted for publication in the journal Communications Chemistry Nature Publishing Group with the title ldquoWaterPowered SelfPropelled Magnetic Nanobot for Rapid and Highly Efficient Capture of Circulating Tumor CellsrdquoMay revolutionise detectionDr Ketan Vagholkar professor of surgery at DY Patil Medical College who usually performs Onco surgeries of the gastrointestinal tract said ldquoThe new nanorobot technology developed by researchers from MIMER is a great achievement The concept of its ability to identify metastases at an early stage is encouraging But cancer comprises a wide spectrum of diseases Whether it will help in the early detection of metastatic solid tumours or blood cancers will require more research and evaluation However once its practical utility is confirmed it will surely revolutionise cancer detectionrdquoNeed more detailed studyDr Meghal Sanghavi Onco Surgeon at Wockhardt hospitals Mumbai Central said ldquoThe newer modalities for detection of breast cancer are vacuumassisted biopsy tissuebased analysis to detect cancer The introduction of nanorobot technology would be a welcome move towards research and development which may turn out to be a probable costeffective procedure in future but this calls for more detailed study and analysis before we can look for concise and definitive answers I would suggest that such research should be supported as it might help in getting clarity when compared with conventional methods of screeningdetection for cancerDr Meghal added ldquoIn a conventional method of biopsy the same sample can also be used for testing other ailments if the finding is noncancerous Moreover the conventional tests provide detailed reporting of their findings with specific markers which is useful to ascertain the diagnosis and even helps the treating surgeon to evaluate the patient better Whereas in the nanorobot technology method we are not sure if the blood sample 5 ml taken would be only restricted for cancer detection or it could be used for screening other ailments Also more RampD studies would be required to rule out any false positive cancer findingsrdquoIn response Dr Shaswat said ldquoAt present we have restricted our research to epithelial origin colorectal lung breast head and neck and colon cancer detections as it is our primary objective and we have also made headway in capturing more cancer cells in the given blood sample which will thereby not only assist in understanding the origin of cancer but also the stage of cancer The tests can be repeated as suggested by the treating oncologist who can use the comparative studies to decide on the continuation of the line of treatment