IIT Indore Researchers Discover Cost-effective Method for Early Detection of Cancer

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore have found a cost-effective way to detect cancer using Raman Spectroscopy. 

A preliminary study has been published by the researchers of IIT Indore claiming to have found the detection of virus infection in the brain and early diagnosis of cancer. 

The study is based on understanding the propagation of a widely known cancer-causing Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) in brain cells using Raman Spectroscopy (RS). EBV can cause stomach cancer, B-cell cancer (a type of WBC), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a type of head cancer). 

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Faculty of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering at ITI-I and the corresponding author of the research, Dr. Hem Chandra Jha said that this method can be an alternative way to detect cancer instead of biopsy. It will be a fast, cost-effective, and robust diagnosis for the detection of cancer and virus-related infections. 

All the available techniques for the detection of viruses in the brain include invasive methods. RS can be used as an alternative method for patients who are undergoing brain biopsies for diagnosis, he said. With the help of RS, the stage of infection can be determined based on the biomolecular markers and aid in early diagnosis. 

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The team of researchers was led by Dr. Hem Chandra Jha and faculty at IIT-I, Dr. Rajesh Kumar, and was assisted by research scholars. 

According to the study, Raman Scattering will provide information on the structure of any material based on the vibrations that are produced and the light falling on the virus will generate the vibrations in the biomolecules. 

RS can be used to analyze and capture the structure and behavior of the virus. Each virus has a different biomolecular composition and thus Raman spectrum is generated that serves as a fingerprint to the virus's identity. 

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Even though the infection is mostly asymptomatic and very little is known about the factors that trigger the development of such diseases, 95% of the adults are positive for EBV, said the study. 

Dr. Rajesh Kimar said that the presence of the EBV in brain tissue of the patients who are suffering from neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s has made it clear and important to study the mechanism and its role in neurodegenerative disorders. 

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