The project, which has just been awarded £100,000 of funding by Cancer Research Wales, is led by Dean Harris, Honorary Professor in Swansea University’s College of Medicine, a colorectal consultant at ABMU health board.  He is working with Professor Peter Dunstan at Swansea University’s Centre for NanoHealth (CNH), and a dedicated PhD research student funded by the project.

Picture:  A Raman spectrograph machine, which uses the spectral properties of scattered laser light to give a unique fingerprint of a sample

At CNH the research team will use nanotechnology, together with Raman spectroscopy, to detect cancer-related changes in patient samples.

Advances made to the Raman technique will amplify the scattering of laser light from cells, chemicals and molecules, and create a unique ‘fingerprint’ that is predicted to be specific for colorectal cancer.

There is immense potential for patients to benefit from this research.  Screening for colorectal cancer would be more acceptable and accessible.  In time, the technique may help determine which types of chemotherapy will work for a particular patient, and recurrence could be detected earlier, transforming outcomes for this common cancer.

•    Colorectal (bowel) cancer is the third commonest cancer worldwide. It remains a leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western World.

•    Early diagnosis before symptoms develop, such as rectal bleeding or change in bowel habit, is vital for the best outcome.

•    Current screening tests, such as colonoscopy or faecal blood detection kits, can be invasive, unpleasant and expensive.

Professor Dean Harris, project leader, who is honorary professor at the College of Medicine at Swansea University, and consultant colorectal surgeon at the city’s Singleton Hospital, said:

“I am delighted that Cancer Research Wales has chosen to fund this exciting collaboration between the Department of Colorectal Surgery and the Department of Physics through the Centre for Nanohealth at Swansea University.

Our cutting edge project has the potential to change the way in which patients with bowel cancer are diagnosed, treated and followed up. We have attracted a very high calibre student for the project and look forward to sharing the results”.

Dr Lee Campbell, science projects and research communications manager at Cancer Research Wales, said:

“Early diagnosis is critical for the effective treatment of cancer.  Cancer Research Wales is proud to work with Professor Harris, Professor Dunstan and the team at Swansea University who seek to develop new blood tests for potential use in the early detection of bowel cancer and the monitoring of treatment response in patients.

This pioneering project is very timely since early cancer diagnosis is a recognised priority area for cancer care in Wales and bowel cancer has recently become the most diagnosed cancer type”.

The Centre for NanoHealth (CNH) at Swansea University combines nanotechnology with medical science to provide opportunities to benefit patients, healthcare providers and the healthcare industry both across Wales and globally.  The CNH offers access to over 50 academic staff from the Colleges of Medicine, Engineering and Science, Health Board (NHS) clinicians, and industry.

Cancer Research Wales was founded in 1966 by Dr Ken Davies. Since then they have raised many millions of pounds for research into the treatment and diagnosis of cancer; which has benefited people in Wales and all over the world.