27-02-2023
The Health2You project born in NOVA School of Science and Technology | FCT NOVA wants to revolutionize the monitoring and treatment of bladder cancer bladder with a urine sample and a highly detailed analysis of the respective proteins present. An innovative project that is already reaching the broader scientific community with the publication of several papers, namely in Communications Medicine, of the renowned magazine Nature.
Why analyse proteins? Because their levels change when disease is present. And it is this analysis that makes it possible to identify molecular signals that help to improve the reliability of diagnosis and to predict the course of a disease. This is exceptionally important for diseases that have invasive and costly follow-up, such as bladder cancer. The current diagnosis and follow-up for this cancer may involve a medical team (nurse, anaesthetist, doctor) and operating theatre in the case of a cystoscopy - an endoscopic examination done through the urethra that needs to be done every three months once the diagnosis of this cancer has been made. This new approach proposes a follow-up done only through urine collections.
This is what Health2You proposes: to identify and analyse proteins - which in simple terms is an analysis of the inflammatory and immune systems - and then organise them into groups, resulting in biochemical pathways that are analysed over time. It is the difference in results between these pathways that indicates whether or not the patient is responding to treatment - and consequently whether the therapy applied needs to be altered.
In the published paper, which had the collaboration of the Urology Service of the Hospital de São José, in Lisbon, directed by Luís Campos Pinheiro, real results of the follow-up of 13 patients with recurrence (of bladder cancer) as opposed to 17 patients without recurrences are presented. There were 35 proteins analysed and four of these have already been cited in scientific literature as potential bladder cancer biomarkers.
"We were able to monitor these patients successfully and we also followed up six patients throughout 62 months", explains Hugo Santos, FCT NOVA researcher who leads this project. "In this way it is possible to follow the individual course of the disease and therefore identify which patients really need more invasive approaches such as cystoscopy."
Bladder cancer is the major focus of this project, given its characteristics, but in fact the project is applicable to the monitoring of any cancer and different types of diseases and an asset for doctors who treat them. "We predict that very soon we will be able to identify 3,000 proteins in just 15 minutes, which will make all the difference both for the hospital or clinic and for the patient," explains associate professor José Luís Capelo, who is part of the project team. "Health2You will allow a very close, detailed, practical and affordable monitoring due to the low costs involved. And because of its speed and accuracy it will also allow doctors to make the best decisions for patient treatment."
The Health2You project, which also involves researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (USA), the University of Vigo and the University of Valladolid (Spain), is currently seeking funding to bring this method to patients in hospitals and clinics.
Press
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