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'Swish-and-spit' test: An inexpensive way to fight cancer

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Cancer research is growing by leaps and bounds and scientists are coming up with new and inexpensive ways of screening the deadly disease. Early detection of tumors is vital as most cancers are curable with early detection.

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore have come up with a simple saliva test can now screen head and neck cancers and this test could save thousands of lives every year. Smokers and drinkers are at a high risk of mouth and throat cancer and this painless and inexpensive test could help detect the cancer cells with genetic signatures.


Called the ‘swish-and-spit‘ test, patients are asked to brush the inside of their mouths, then rinse and gargle with salt solution. The rinsed saliva is then filtered and screened for one of the 21 bits of chemically altered genes associated with throat and neck cancers.

This test was given to over 200 volunteers suffering from head and neck cancers and over 500 people who did not have these diseases. More than fifty percent of the people with the disease had their diagnosis right with this test.

We know who gets head and neck cancer — people who smoke and drink a lot and tend to be at an older age. The problem is that it’s sometimes difficult to diagnose until it’s at its late stages and difficult to treat and cure

says researcher Dr. Joseph Califano of the Johns Hopkins department of head and neck surgery.

This test offers hope to millions of people who run the risk of mouth and throat cancers and cannot afford the expensive screening tests.

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Source: Reuters

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