Earlier detection of ovarian cancer

Cancer Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among females in the United States, owing in part to the late stage at which it is often diagnosed. Survival rates increase dramatically when it is detected early, and new methods for advanced detection are greatly needed. Williams et al. developed a carbon nanotube–based sensor that optically detects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved ovarian cancer biomarker HE4. When implanted into live cancer-bearing mice, distinct wavelength responses from individual nanotubes in the device rapidly and repeatedly differentiated mice with ovarian cancer from controls. The same was true in tests using samples from ovarian cancer patients. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aaq1090 (2018)