You are in > manchester.com  > News > Body's baking soda could be used to detect cancer

Health

Body's baking soda could be used to detect cancer

28/05/2008

Bicarbonate, a chemical commonly called baking soda that is found naturally in the body, could be used to detect cancer, a new study suggests.

Scientists found that using bicarbonate with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could help them to image the molecules that cancer cells use to make energy and to grow at an early stage.

In tests on mice researchers at the University of Cambridge measured pH levels using a very sensitive MRI technique with a tagged form of bicarbonate.

This technique is 20,000 times more sensitive than usual MRI scanning.

Levels of pH can be used to spot cancer as almost all cancers have a lower pH than the surrounding tissue.

Normally, the human body has a system of balancing chemicals with a low pH - acids - and chemicals with a high pH – alkalis - to maintain a constant, healthy pH level.

In cancer, this balancing system is disturbed, and the tissue becomes more acidic.

Using MRI, the researchers looked to see how much of the tagged bicarbonate was converted into carbon dioxide within the tumour.

In more acidic tumours, more bicarbonate is converted into carbon dioxide.

"This technique could be used as a highly-sensitive early warning system for the signs of cancer. Establishing such tools is a major challenge in cancer research," said lead researcher Professor Kevin Brindle.

"By exploiting the body's natural pH balancing system, we have found a potentially safe way of measuring pH to see what's going on inside patients.

"MRI can pick up on the abnormal pH levels found in cancer and it is possible that this could be used to pinpoint where the disease is present and when it is responding to treatment."

Dr Ferdia Gallagher added: "Our technique allows the spatial distribution of pH to be imaged using MRI which is something that has not previously been possible in patients.

"This new method is important because the chemical we use isn't toxic and is already administered safely to humans."

Commenting on the research, Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's really important that we find new ways of diagnosing cancer earlier and find out if drugs are working well in the body.

"So if clinical trials show that this technique is as safe and effective in cancer patients as we expect, this could be a very useful tool in the early detection of cancer and may save many lives."