A Spoonful of Yogurt May Detect Colorectal Cancer

There may be a new technique in the fight against cancer-and it involves yogurt. A MIT professor has developed synthetic molecules from yogurt bacteria that, when introduced to the body, can find their way to tumors.

Currently, the researchers at MIT in Boston are developing a method of screening for colorectal cancer that relies on the bacteria to escort synthetic biomarkers to the gut, according to Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News. If cancer is present, then the cancer cells produce an enzyme that break down the introduced molecules into small enough particles that they can be processed by the kidneys and detected in excreted urine.

Previously, the researchers injected the molecules into the body, according to Newsweek. Now, though, they've come up with a method to introduce the molecules simply by having a patient ingesting them. By modifying the bacteria in yogurt, patients can eat the molecules and then take a simple urine test in order to find out whether or not they test positive for cancer.

So far, the process has only been tested in mice. However, it represents a non-invasive way in order to screen for cancer. It could even detect cancer early, which could help with further treatments.

If detected early, 90 percent of people with colorectal cancer survive for at least five years, according to MIT. Yet only about 40 percent of people overall are diagnosed early, just because so few people get screened. If people can simply take a spoonful of yogurt to test whether or not they have cancer, though, the rate of early diagnosis could increase greatly which, in turn, could increase life expectancy in these individuals.