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Sugar can help detect cancer
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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New cancer research has shown that malignant tumors absorb more sugar, and scientists have suggested that this could be used in cancer diagnostics.
According to experts, replacing the synthetic substance with sugar will not only help in diagnosis, but will also have a positive psychological effect on patients.
The research was conducted at Lund University in Sweden. The experts said that sugar could well replace the contrast agent used in the diagnosis of cancerous tumors.
The scientists made their conclusions based on experiments conducted with the participation of seven volunteers, three of whom were diagnosed with brain cancer, while the rest were completely healthy.
Studies have shown that cancerous tumors absorb more sugar than the normal tissues that surround them.
According to scientists, there are several advantages to using sugar instead of a contrast agent. First of all, sugar does not have a harmful effect on the patient's body, and the cost of a sugar-based substance is an order of magnitude less than that of contrast agents with synthetic components. Another advantage of using sugar may be its positive psychological effect on cancer patients - scientists believe that sugar-based substances have a calming effect on patients.
Currently, the sugar substance has only one drawback – this diagnostic method is unacceptable for patients with diabetes, but Swedish scientists do not intend to stop there and want to continue their research in this direction. Soon, experts plan to begin a new stage of research with the participation of a new group of volunteers.
By the way, scientists believe that one of the rare types of sugar (L-fucose), which is present in mushrooms, algae, seeds, can help in the treatment of skin cancer ( melanoma ). According to experts, the spread of melanoma can be stopped if it is possible to change the metabolism of L-fucose.
At the University of California, a group of specialists believes that cancer can be diagnosed using human biological fluids. Scientists have called this diagnostic method a liquid biopsy and developed a special test that can help establish a diagnosis in 10 minutes using just one drop of saliva, and the test can be done independently. According to scientists, the test shows a result with 100% accuracy.
Today, oncologists use a blood test that is performed after a biopsy and shows the genetic profile of cancer. But for the primary diagnosis of cancer, a blood test has not been used for some time. American experts are confident that a saliva test can detect a tumor at the initial stages of development, which is extremely important.
Professor David Wong, who led the study, noted that clinical trials of the new testing method will be organized in a few months. At the moment, it is only known that patients with lung cancer will participate in the experiments.
The researchers noted that they were not only interested in the test for cancer detection, but also in the absence of false positive results.
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