Translating protein biomarkers into prototype tests to improve the detection of breast cancer

SMART Partnership The current UK breast cancer screening has been very successful. In 2022-23 it screened 64.6 % of 1.93 million women for breast cancer by mammography and (in England) detected 18,942 cancer cases. The risks of breast cancer rise in post-menopausal women so that screening starts when women reach 50 years of age. However, there is a sizeable population of younger women (~18% of all cases in 2016-18) and annual mortality rates at ~10 % of the total. There is a requirement to encourage younger, lower risk women to be tested. To help capture this low risk population, this project aims to provide the knowledge to a Welsh-based company to develop a prototype test that could be apply at home or in a GP’s surgery. Aberystwyth University (AU) has identified a new way to look for protein “biomarkers” in urine, whose concentration changes where Breast Cancer is present. These biomarkers have been patented as they could form the basis of a new test; possibly a Covid-19 type lateral flow test, as they are potentially sensitive and accurate enough to avoid the problems caused by over and under diagnosis. This involves collaboration with Dynamic Extractions (DE) using an innovative processing technology allowing purification of key biochemicals in minutes as opposed to hours and enables upscaling to commercial use. In this current application, it facilitates the large-scale preparation of key, patented, biomarkers for breast cancer, such that they can be developed into prototype tests. This is the first step in developing a longer-term relationship with the company, where the associate will promote expertise in Wales in the use of biomarkers to produce tests for a range of diseases.