Brush biopsy enables early detection of oral cancer without surgery

The diagnostic kit, created and patented by Guy Adami and Joel Schwartz of the UIC College of Dentistry, uses a small brush to collect cells from potentially cancerous lesions inside the mouth. The sample is then analysed for genetic signals of oral squamous cell carcinoma, the ninth most prevalent cancer globally.

This new screening method, which is currently seeking commercialisation partnerships, improves upon the current diagnostic standard of surgical biopsies — an extra referral step that risks losing patients who sometimes don’t return until the cancer progresses to more advanced, hard-to-treat stages.

Guy, associate professor of oral medicine and diagnostic sciences, said, “So many patients get lost; they don’t follow up. We’ve tried to keep our focus mainly on early Stage 1 and 2 cancers, so it actually works with the cancers that you want to detect.”