There’s Now An App That Screens You For Pancreatic Cancer Before It’s Too Late
It detects it even before your symptoms start to show.
By Sheryll Paul — 29 Aug 2017, 08:29 PM
Pancreatic cancer is known for having one of the lowest survival rates, with only 9% of patients surviving past the five-year mark from the time they were diagnosed
This is mainly because patients only start to produce symptoms once the disease becomes very developed.
However, the new smartphone app, BiliScreen, now promises to detect the disease just by analysing a selfie
It was designed by researchers at the University of Washington.
The app works with coloured paper glasses that help block out obstructive lighting. This ensures consistent and accurate results.
The app works by detecting the level of bilirubin in a person's eyes
Bilirubin is a yellow substance found in your body that, when present in high levels, causes the whites of your eyes to turn yellowish. One of the first signs of pancreatic cancer is the increase in the body's level of bilirubin. A blood test is usually done once the patient starts to notice the yellow in their eyes.
However, waiting till the eye becomes visibly yellow is often too late. This is because the yellowing only becomes noticeable to most people once the cancer is already very developed. And by then, the chances of survival drop drastically compared to if the cancer were detected earlier.
The app is designed to detect very low levels of bilirubin and can provide users an assessment of whether or not their levels are high enough to indicate concern
In a study of 70 people, the BiliScreen app was shown to be accurate 89.7% of the time.
It was even shown to be useful to patients who have already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to monitor their condition.
“The hope is that if people can do this simple test once a month — in the privacy of their own homes — some might catch the disease early enough to undergo treatment that could save their lives,” Alex Mariakakis, a researcher on the project, said.
The researchers hope the app can help patients identify the disease before it develops beyond a treatable point
“Pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease with no effective screening right now,” Dr Jim Taylor, another researcher on the project said. “Our goal is to have more people who are unfortunate enough to get pancreatic cancer to be fortunate enough to catch it in time to have surgery that gives them a better chance of survival.”
The team is now working on further improving the app and will be presenting their work soon
