Test from tears for detecting brain tumours, developed by a researcher from Manchester

Petra Hamerlik was 15 years old when her father died from a brain tumour, which doctors only diagnosed after eight months. This delay had a profound effect on her and drove her to seek a method by which such diseases could be detected before symptoms appeared. Today, she is a professor at the University of Manchester and leads a research project aimed at identifying brain tumours through a simple analysis of tears.

The idea came to her in 2012, in a bar in Denmark, following a conversation with another researcher who was studying tears in relation to certain eye diseases. Hamerlik began to wonder whether a similar connection might exist with brain tumours, based on the fact that the eye is an extension of the central nervous system. Her hypothesis was that the changes a tumour produces in the brain could also be reflected in the composition of tear fluid.

How the method was tested

To explore this idea, Hamerlik led a study at the British university involving approximately 500 participants, with the support of researchers from other countries.

One of the participants, Huw McCandless, already knew he had a brain tumour. For the test, a small strip of thick paper was placed under his lower eyelid for approximately ten minutes to collect tears. The only discomfort he experienced was a slight sensation of dry eyes. Based on the analysis of his tears, the researchers were able to correctly identify the presence of the tumour.

How long before it is used in practice

According to the doctors involved in the project, the test may not reach patients for another decade. The reason is that the research team must first ensure that the signal detected in tears is genuinely indicative of a brain tumour and not some other neurological condition.

Petra Hamerlik hopes that, by the time the test receives approval, a treatment for diagnosed patients may already be available.