Key Takeaways:
· A University of Houston researcher is developing technology that could help doctors detect liver cancer earlier through a simple blood test.
· The five-year survival rate for liver cancer is 22%, increases to 37% when liver cancer is detected early, but falls to less than 5% when it is diagnosed in later stages.
· A new $2.5 million NIH grant will move the technology toward clinical testing in people at high risk for liver cancer and patients being monitored after treatment.
A University of Houston researcher is moving a promising light-based technology for early detection of liver cancer toward clinical testing, backed by a new $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Across the nation, incidence rates have tripled over the past four decades, and the potential impact of early detection is significant.
In Texas, the problem is profound. The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that Texas suffers from the highest liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer rates in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, survival rates vary dramatically based on when the cancer is found. The five-year survival rate for liver cancer is 22%, increases to 37% when liver cancer is detected early, but falls to less than 5% when it is diagnosed in later stages.
Wei-Chuan Shih, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH's Cullen College of Engineering, is developing a light-based technology that analyzes tiny particles in the blood for molecular signs of liver cancer. Researchers hope the approach provides a less invasive way to detect the disease and monitor patients for recurrence after treatment.
"When liver cancer is detected early, patients have more treatment options and a better chance of survival," Shih said. "Our goal is to develop a highly sensitive blood test that can identify the disease at its earliest stages and help doctors detect when cancer returns after treatment.”
With the new NIH funding, researchers plan to move the technology toward clinical testing, including evaluating its ability to detect liver cancer in high-risk patients and studying patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, after liver transplants. In Texas, nearly 90% of cancers originating in the liver (excluding bile duct cancers) are HCC.
The latest award brings Shih's total research funding for the technology to $8 million through three NIH grants and a grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, reflecting sustained investment in a promising approach to early cancer detection.
A new approach to early detection
Shih's technology uses a specially engineered chip containing meta-surfaces and light to detect and analyze exosomes — microscopic particles released by cells into the bloodstream. These particles carry molecular material from the cells they came from and can provide researchers with important clues about what is happening inside the body.
By capturing and analyzing individual exosomes, researchers hope to identify molecular signs of liver cancer that conventional screening methods may miss, particularly in the disease’s earliest stages. The technology could eventually help doctors detect liver cancer without the need for an invasive tissue biopsy and offer a new way to monitor people at high risk for liver cancer, including some people with cirrhosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue.
Current methods can miss HCC in its earliest stages, according to Shih. HCC is the most common form of primary liver cancer, making earlier and more sensitive detection particularly important for people at elevated risk.
Shih’s technology is designed to simplify the testing process by allowing researchers to isolate and analyze individual exosomes directly from blood plasma without extensive purification. By examining cancer-specific molecular markers inside each exosome, the approach could also improve the sensitivity of liver cancer detection.
While the incidence off HCC peaked around 2015 across the U.S. and began declining, Texas's HCC incidence rates continued to rise steadily or remain elevated, widening the gap between Texas and the rest of the nation. These rates are highest among Hispanics, who make up 40% of the Texas population
Connecting research across disciplines
Shih's work also reflects the growing reach of UH Health, the University's academic health enterprise, which brings together expertise from across UH to advance research and innovation aimed at improving healthcare access, delivery and outcomes. Shih has been actively involved in UH Health's Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation, which focuses on developing and commercializing technologies that address real-world healthcare challenges.
“Dr. Shih's research is a great example of how some of the most promising advances in healthcare are happening well beyond traditional health professions colleges,” said Dr. Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH and dean of the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. “Through UH Health, we're connecting expertise from across the University to accelerate discoveries like this one and translate innovative technologies into solutions that can make a meaningful difference in people's lives.” Shih’s previous research is published in the scientific journal ACS Sensors.
Research reported in this press release is supported by the National Institutes of Health under award number 1R01CA316276-01.