Inhalable sensors could enable early lung cancer detection

MIT 's new diagnostic is based on nanosensors that can be delivered by an inhaler or a nebulizer.

If the sensors encounter cancer-linked proteins in the lungs, they produce a signal that accumulates in the urine.

This approach could replace or supplement the current gold standard for diagnosing lung cancer.

It could have an especially significant impact in low- and middle-income countries.

A machine-learning algorithm identified a combination of four sensors that was predicted to give accurate diagnostic results.

They then tested that combination in the mouse model and found it could accurately detect early-stage lung tumors.

The researchers now plan to analyze human biopsy samples to see if the sensor panels they are using would also work to detect human cancers.