Paris (AFP) - The black spots on old banana peels may unlock
a faster, easier diagnosis of human skin cancer, boosting survival chances,
scientists said Monday.
When bananas ripen, their skin is covered in small, round
black spots caused by an enzyme known as tyrosinase.
The same enzyme is present in human skin, and in greater
quantities in people suffering from melanoma -- a potentially deadly form of
skin cancer.
A team of scientists used this observed commonality to build
a cancer scanner, which they then refined and tested at length on banana peels
before moving on to human tissue.
First, researchers at the Laboratory of Physical and
Analytical Electrochemistry in Switzerland concluded that the enzyme is a
reliable marker of melanoma growth.
In the earliest stage 1 of cancer, the enzyme is not very
apparent, becoming widespread and evenly distributed in stage 2, and unevenly
distributed in stage 3 -- by when the cancer has started spreading to other
parts of the body.
The earlier the cancer is detected, the greater the chances
of survival.
According to the American Cancer Society, people have a
10-year survival rate of 95 percent if the melanoma is detected in stage 1 --
falling to 43 percent by mid-stage 3.
The team developed a scanner and tested it on banana peel
spots -- which are roughly the same size as melanoma spots on human skin.
"By working with fruit, we were able to develop and
test a diagnostic method before trying it on human biopsies," team leader
Hubert Girault said in a statement.
The scanner has eight flexible microelectrodes, spaced like
comb teeth, that pass over the skin to measure the quantity and distribution of
tyrosinase.
"This system could obviate the need for invasive tests
like biopsies," the team said.
Girault believes the scanner could be used one day to
destroy tumours, hopefully rendering biopsies and even chemotherapy
unnecessary.
"Our initial laboratory tests showed us that our device
could be used to destroy the cells," he said.
The research was published in the German science journal
Angewandte Chemie.
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