Oral cancer rates are increasing and the disease can prove fatal, yet many overlook its risks. Early detection improves outcomes, but current methods often require invasive procedures.
Researchers from the UK and India have developed a simple, non-invasive swab test that identifies early-stage oral cancer accurately and delivers results in under an hour. The approach allows repeated monitoring of suspicious lesions without discomfort.
Muy-Teck Teh, an oral oncologist at Queen Mary University of London, noted that the method offers clinicians a fast, reliable way to assess patients and track changes over time.
Oral cancers typically appear as persistent sores or color changes on the lips, gums, tongue or cheeks. While many prove harmless, confirmation usually involves painful tissue biopsies that discourage follow-up visits.
The new quantitative Malignancy Index Diagnostic System uses a brush to collect cells from a lesion and checks mRNA activity in four genes associated with oral cancer. A control sample from healthy tissue is tested simultaneously.
In trials involving 545 patients, the test achieved 95.5 percent accuracy with false-positive and false-negative rates below 5 percent. Results were ready within an hour, matching the performance of traditional biopsies while remaining painless.
The tool could reduce unnecessary procedures for low-risk cases and enable ongoing surveillance for higher-risk patients. Worldwide oral cancer cases and deaths have more than doubled since 1990, linked to smoking, alcohol, sugary drinks and HPV.
Developers aim to commercialize the test within two years. The study appeared in Biomarker Research.
